3-run, walk-off homer propels 14th-seeded Fox Chapel softball past Franklin Regional

By: Michael Love
Thursday, May 20, 2021 | 6:20 PM

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Fox Chapel’s Brynn Palmer came up in the bottom of the seventh of Thursday’s WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal against Franklin Regional with the game on the line.

The Foxes third baseman/shortstop already had driven in two runs, and with one out, two runners on base and her team down a run, she hoped for more.

She certainly delivered.

Palmer connected off Franklin Regional senior starter Makinzie DeRiggi for a three-run homer that sailed over the right-center field fence. It completed a dramatic late-inning rally and lifted the 14th-seeded Foxes to a 7-5 victory at Plum.

“A lot was going through my mind when I was at the plate,” said Palmer, who finished 3 for 3 with five RBIs.

“I knew I had to at least get a little hit so we could tie the game. The plans ended up turning out to be different, and it all fell into place. The team is just so excited we get the chance to continue in the playoffs.”

The Foxes improved to 13-6 and have won two playoff games in the same postseason after a playoff-win drought that had extended for more than two decades. Fox Chapel upset No. 3 Plum, 2-0, on Tuesday.

“We can get down here and there, but we always are confident we can come back,” Palmer said.

Fox Chapel went from the cusp of being eliminated to having at least three more games. The Foxes clinched a spot in the PIAA playoffs as the four semifinalists qualify.

Fox Chapel will face No. 7 Armstrong in the semifinals Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. Both teams will be making the first semifinal appearance in program history.

The two semifinal losers will square off in a consolation game to determine their positioning for the PIAA playoffs.

Franklin Regional, the 11th seed that upended three-time defending WPIAL Class 5A champion West Allegheny in the first round, saw its season end at 10-7.

“It was a well-played game,” veteran Panthers coach Jim Armstrong said. “It just came down to them hitting the ball better than we did.

“But the girls battled all year, and I am proud of them for what they accomplished. We started out kind of slow as we started to find our way. We’re losing some amazing players, but we also are a young team that I think will have to be reckoned with for a while.”

Fox Chapel was dealt some adversity early as starting shortstop and cleanup hitter Hunter Taylor suffered a thumb dislocation sliding into home for her team’s third run in the bottom of the first.

The Foxes took a 3-2 lead at that point, but Taylor left the game and didn’t return. Olbrich said after the game it was too early to determine her status moving forward.

Olbrich juggled a few positions in the field, and freshman Alina Stiger came in to play right field.

In Taylor’s place in the lineup, Stinger doubled in the fifth and drew a walk in the seventh to put a pair of runners on base to set up Palmer’s heroics.

Senior Neena Pietropaolo hit a solo home run, her second in as many games, to draw Fox Chapel within 5-4.

Amelia Herzer followed with a single, and Stiger drew the walk.

“As long as they didn’t add on, the goal when (Franklin Regional) got to five (runs) was to shut them down to give us a chance at the end,” Olbrich said. “The girls have shown they can adjust their at-bats as time goes on in the game. They showed that again, Plum with those two late-inning runs. I believe in these girls until the other team gets all 21 outs. We want to put the pressure on the other team as the last three outs often are the toughest to get.”

Franklin Regional got the scoring started in the top half of the first as first baseman Madison Nguyen belted a two-out, two-run homer. Nguyen apparently earned the respect of the Fox Chapel coaches, who intentionally walked her the next three times she came to the plate.

Down a run in the third, the Panthers got the equalizer on a solo homer from designated player Kamaria Kelly.

They then grabbed a two-run advantage in the fourth on back-to-back extra-base hits: a triple from Kelly and a double from center fielder Sydney Jackson.

Franklin Regional collected 10 hits and drew five walks off Mackenzie Borkovich.

Borkovich struck out 10 and worked out of a couple of jams, including a bases-loaded situation in the third.

DeRiggi worked out of a jam of her own in the sixth as Palmer and Borkovich both singled with no outs. The Foxes were held off the board as DiRiggi picked up a strikeout and induced an infield pop-up and a grounder to short to quell the threat. She finished the game giving up nine hits and four walks while striking out six.

The two defenses combined to commit just one error.

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: Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional