Parkersburg senior Ethan Marshall delivers a pitch earlier this season at Jackson Park in Vienna. Marshall recently signed his letter on intent to attend Davis & Elkins and join the Vikings’ baseball program. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG — Where Ethan Marshall currently finds himself as a baseball pitcher is directly in line with his dream of always wanting to play at the collegiate level.

The senior from Parkersburg High School recently signed his letter of intent to join the baseball program at Davis & Elkins. The right-hander closed out his final year with the Big Reds leading the team in wins (4), earned run average (1.33) and strikeouts (67).

“Ever since I picked up a baseball at 4 years old, baseball has been special for me and for my family,” said Ethan, who is the son of Melissa Marshall. “I guess ever since I was younger, I enjoyed pitching and knew it was something I could do.”

Ethan Marshall toured the Davis & Elkins campus during winter break and st that time he was 90 percent certain he would be attending that particular school. His decision never wavered after he met Vikings head coach Brett Ripley and visited the section of campus which housed the environmental science department. Fishing and being in the outdoors is like home for Marshall, who wants to become a Department of Resources officer.

“I met everyone in the department and they were happy having someone new coming in,” Marshall said. “I met the guy in criminology and had a lengthy conversation with him about my future.”

In three years as a varsity member for the PHS baseball program, Marshall enjoyed the relationships he built with teammates. This past season was especially rewarding when the Big Reds’ first win in the Class AAA sectional was the first sectional win for any player on the roster. PHS nearly upset Hurricane in the opening round and again in an elimination game.

“There was one game last year when I beat Hurricane that helped me understand how fun it is beating teams like that,” Marshall said. “It motivated me to work harder.”

For the first time in his baseball career, Marshall joins Parkersburg Post 15 for the upcoming American Legion baseball season this summer. He is scheduled to start one of the two games for Saturday’s season-opening doubleheader against Cambridge.

“I’ve played with other teams in the past over the summer, but I realized the better competition pitching against college kids,” Marshall said. “I’ve been to several practices an everybody is super nice. Even the Parkersburg South kids. Everybody tries to have fun while winning ballgames.”

At the plate, Marshall batted in the .250 range this past season for PHS. He likes the sound of the designated hitter because it takes the responsibility of swinging the bat off his plate.

“If I could pitch only, that would be a dream,” Marshall said. “I wasn’t horrible at the high school level. I don’t know how much fun it would be at the college level.”

One individual in particular who was present for his recent signing, has left quite the impression for Marshall.

“My mom has been everything for me — she has done a lot for me,” Marshall said. “She is the one who pushed me to go to college.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrrick@newsandsentinel.com