Key section win has Fox Chapel softball flying high

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, April 4, 2026 | 11:01 AM

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Ava Wamsley waited until the sixth inning of the Fox Chapel softball team’s matchup with North Hills to ask coach Larry Troutman about a previous promise. The senior catcher inquired if the Foxes hung on to win, was dinner still on him?

“North Hills was always the team we wanted to beat because of how good they are,” Wamsley said. “He told us last year if we beat them, we would get a steak dinner. When we were up on them in the sixth inning, I said ‘Are we still promised a steak dinner?’ ”

Jillian Haigh hit a two-run home run that sparked the Foxes to a 3-1 Section 1-4A win March 30 on the road. Fox Chapel got Italian food after, where Wamsley enjoyed fettuccine Alfredo.

The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to North Hills that stretched back to 2021. Fox Chapel had lost 10 of its last 13 to the Indians.

Fox Chapel had three bites at the apple last season — including in the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals — and came up empty.

“I didn’t tell them about it before, but they knew that they beat us three times last year,” Troutman said. “Do we think the games were closer than the score indicated? Yes. The key is to not have a bad inning. In the three losses, we had one bad inning and that’s what did us in. I kept reminding them before the game we outhit them in the playoff game.”

Fox Chapel (6-1, 4-1) built serious momentum heading into spring break. The win over North Hills was the Foxes’ fourth in a row.

Fox Chapel opened section play with an 8-0 loss to defending WPIAL champion Shaler. The Foxes rebounded from the loss by knocking off Plum, 5-0. Lexi Stabile struck out 11 against the Mustangs.

Stabile, a freshman, has settled in as Fox Chapel’s top pitcher in the circle.

“She has a lot of spin on her ball,” Wamsley said. “She has a lot of different pitches she can throw. It’s cool to see the movement and see the batter swing at it. If she throws the ball in the dirt, she doesn’t get down.”

Fox Chapel has been able to rack up wins thanks to timely hitting. When the Foxes beat previously undefeated New Castle, 15-4, Ella Eisner, Bella Geller, Haigh and Giuliana Foley all hit home runs.

Wamsley said she thinks Fox Chapel has proven that it won’t let mistakes compound.

“I feel like if we have a bad inning, that next inning is a whole new team,” Wamsley said.

Troutman said he wants his team to stay focused on playing strong softball as it goes through the second half of section play. He doesn’t want Fox Chapel to let up as it tries to lock up a playoff spot.

“I was looking at our schedule today,” Troutman said. “Playing Norwin, some of the teams we will play later in the year, and the teams we will play later in the year will prepare us for the playoffs.”

Tags: Fox Chapel