Alle-Kiski Valley softball playoff preview capsules: Games for May 14, 2025

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 | 5:42 PM

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WPIAL softball playoffs

Class 6A

Quarterfinals

12-Fox Chapel (13-6) vs. 4-North Hills (16-4)

3 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny

Winner plays: Winner of 1-Penn-Trafford (18-2)/9-Chartiers Valley (12-6) in semifinals (date, time, location TBD)

Players to watch: Natalie Anzaldi, North Hills; Summer Burkhart, Fox Chapel

Extra bases: Fox Chapel pulled a first-round upset with a 4-0 victory over No. 5 Franklin Regional on Monday at North Allegheny. The Foxes, the fourth-place team from Section 1, won their fourth game in a row. Sophomore Jillian Haigh struck out eight in the complete-game shutout, and she singled and score a run in the fourth on a two-run double by Burkhart. Haigh finished the game with two hits. Fox Chapel will play in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2021 when it made the Class 5A semifinals and qualified for the PIAA tournament. … Fox Chapel and North Hills, section opponents during the regular season, will meet for the third time. The Indians won both games 10-2 and 6-2. … North Hills finished runner up to Shaler in Section 1 at 10-2. The Indians won seven of eight to close the regular season and opened the playoffs Monday with a 4-3 win over Baldwin at North Allegheny. Anzaldi singled home the winning run in the sixth inning. She finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Emma Culver singled, doubled, and drove in a run for a North Hills team that hopes to avoid another upset. The Indians, as the No. 2 seed last year, were defeated by No. 10 Thomas Jefferson, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.

Class 4A

Quarterfinals

3-Knoch (17-3) vs. No. 6 Beaver (14-5)

5 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Hampton (14-4)/7-Indiana (10-10) in semifinals (site, time and location TBD)

Players to watch: Emersyn Jones, Knoch; Sami Springman, Beaver

Extra bases: Knoch received a bye past the first round after claiming the Section 1 title with a 12-0 record. The Knights had won 17 in a row before losses to Class 2A No. 2 Laurel, 7-4, and Class 5A No. 2 Shaler, 5-0, to close out the regular season. Knoch enters WPIAL play as one of the strongest-hitting teams in Class 4A, scoring 10 runs a game. They have tallied 202 runs in 20 games. Jones has 10 home runs and 37 RBIs. Eight players have 10 or more RBIs. Marlee Fraser is 5-1 with a 1.08 ERA and 53 strikeouts. Kaila Purcell is 8-2 with a 1.58 ERA and 51 strikeouts. … Beaver, the runner-up to No. 2 Hampton in Section 3, impressed in its WPIAL first-round game with an 8-1 win over Belle Vernon on Monday evening. Springman, a senior, went 2 for 2 with a double and an RBI. Freshman Bella Marino singled twice and drove in a run. Five others singled and collected an RBI. Beaver won four of five to close the regular season and set itself up for the postseason. The Bobcats are scoring 9.6 runs a game and giving up 4.1. Beaver rebounded this spring after going 3-14 a year ago.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Beaver, Fox Chapel, Knoch, North Hills