The Fox Chapel softball team broke through as the No. 12 seed during the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs last season, upsetting Franklin Regional in the first round. The Foxes have added more pitching depth to help them try to take another step forward.
Fox Chapel returns junior Jillian Haigh, who has an offer from Wagner, who started the Foxes’ win against the Panthers.
Fox Chapel also will bring in a pair of freshmen pitchers, Lexi Stabile and Izzy Zober. Stabile already has drawn Division I interest, while Zober has competed internationally for Israel’s U18 team.
“Lexi is more of a speed pitcher. She has a good changeup,” coach Larry Troutman said. “Izzy throws a lot of different pitches, and she’s more of a spin pitcher. She gets a lot of popups and soft contact with her pitching. Jillian is a gamer.”
The Foxes, who finished 14-7 last season, will have to contend with a difficult section again. Shaler won the WPIAL last season and returns Indiana commit Bria Bosilejevac. North Hills reached the semifinals and brought back pitcher Abby Sutton, while Plum ended up being tripped up in its first WPIAL playoff game.
Fox Chapel was scheduled to open the season with a nonsection matchup with Norwin on March 13. Results from that game were too late for this edition.
“The section will be tough,” Troutman said. “If we can make it through the section, we could do damage in the playoffs.”
Troutman, who is in his second year leading the program, believes the Foxes will be more prepared from the jump. Fox Chapel had some fall competition in the Hampton Tournament and at Deer Lakes.
“I think we ended up getting in 14 games in the fall,” Troutman said. “That gave us an opportunity to see all of the freshmen. It helped us get in sync.”
Senior outfielder Sumer Burkhart returns. She delivered a two-run double to help Fox Chapel knock off the Panthers.
The Foxes also will return catcher/utility player Giuliana Foley back to the lineup. Foley returned from injury for the last few games of last season and showed the ability to hit home runs.
Junior outfielder Heidi Stiger also will be counted on to utilize her solid hitting.
Troutman, whose daughters played in the program, said he believes this group has as much potential as any group he has seen.
“I feel like we have a lot of depth this year,” Troutman said. “If we have an injury or someone struggling, it’s the next-girl-up mentality. I think our defense has the potential to be good. We have to cut down on the learning curve.”