JACKSON TWP — Entering its game with Seneca Valley Monday, the Fox Chapel baseball team had scored 41 runs in its previous three contest.

But when the Foxes picked up their bats in the top of the seventh inning against the Raiders, they were on the short end of a 2-1 score.

Fox Chapel coach John Broderick knew his team had a few more runs left in it.

He was right, as the Foxes pulled out a 4-2 victory over the Raiders.

The Foxes were able to get two of their first three batters on base, chasing SV starting pitcher Kyle Helisek from the game in favor of Mike Eonta.

The right-handed reliever surrendered RBI singles to John Hastings and Chris Murphy.

Another run scored on a steal of home to give Fox Chapel a two-run lead.

The Raiders managed to bring the tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Foxes pitcher Tiph Harner got Andrew Fornadel to ground into a fielder's choice and Phil Double grounded out to give Fox Chapel the win.

"Fox Chapel was able to get a couple of hits and they kept battling," said SV coach Eric Semega. "Sometimes, that's all it takes."

The win kept alive Fox Chapel's hopes of making the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

The Foxes are now 7-4 in Section 1-AAAA, 13-4 overall.

"With the way this team puts the ball in play and never quits, I just knew they'd have to score a few more runs," said Broderick. "This was our third must-win game in a row. We were 4-4 in the section and figured, if we had any chance of making the playoffs, we'd have to go 8-4."

Seneca Valley (11-6, 8-3) took a two-run lead after two innings following Brett Spagnola's RBI-single in the first and Dan Jergel's run off of a fielding error in the second.

Helisek and Harner both got into a groove after that.

From the third inning through the sixth, Helisek surrendered only two singles and didn't allow a runner to advance past second base.

In that same span, Harner gave up just one hit — Spagnola's single to left field in the third frame — and set the Raiders down in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

"Tiph was outstanding today," said Broderick. "He showed a lot of guts out there.

"His bread and butter is his fastball and he is able to move it around."

Harner gave up four hits to the Raiders, striking out four and walking one in the win.

Helisek was charged with three runs on five hits while striking out three and walking three.

"I thought Kyle did an excellent job," said Semega. "Holding them to (three) runs, it was a good outing for him."

Seneca Valley is in danger of not making the playoffs, though it still controls its own destiny.

With either a win Wednesday at Butler or a Fox Chapel loss against Shaler, SV would be in the postseason.

But a loss to the Golden Tornado could mean an abrupt ending to a season that began with a four-game section winning streak.

Fox Chapel 100 000 3—4 8 2Seneca Valley 110 000 0—2 4 0WP: Tiph Harner (7 IP) 4 strikeouts, 1 walk.

LP: Kyle Helisek (6Z\c IP) 3 strikeouts, 3 walks

Fox Chapel (13-4, 7-4): John Hastings 1B R RBI, Nate Planavsky 2-1B SB, Chris Murphy 1B R RBI, Joe Noro, Jr. 2B RBI, Derek Planavsky 1B R, Chris Hughes 2-1B, Kevin Killian R

Seneca Valley (11-6, 8-3): Phil Double 1B, Kevan Smith 1B, Brett Spagnola 2-1B RBI, Dan Jergel R, Jim Burry R

Wednesday: Seneca Valley at Butler