Parkersburg South’s Aubrey Titus delivers a pitch during a high school softball game against Warren Thursday at Godbey Field. (Photo by Aaron Lee)

PARKERSBURG — On senior night, Parkersburg South softball had the opportunity to honor seniors Emma Johnson and Becca Beatty for their years of dedication to the program. The Patriots took full advantage of the matchup against Warren, racking up eight runs in four innings while maintaining a shutout to force a premature end to the game after four and a half by a final of 8-0.

The Warriors went three up and three down in the top of the first. The Patriots quickly got to work in the bottom half of the frame, compiling five runs. Beatty started things off with a double from the leadoff position and was brought home on a single by Emma Kuhl. Later, Brooklin Whitehead hit a double that brought home two baserunners and was sent to home plate herself on a triple by Alison Marcum. The last run of the inning was scored on a sacrifice fly ball hit by Emma Johnson. South was able to load the bases before the end of the inning, but was unable to drive any more runs home.

After giving up a walk in the top of the second, the Patriots recorded three straight outs to retire the side. South was also held scoreless in the second.

Warren went three up and three down for the second time of the game in the third. The Patriots added to their lead in the bottom of the third. Shyanne Hays made it on base with a single, got to second on a wild pitch, and was brought home on a single by Beatty, who was a perfect 3-3 on the day.

The Warriors had their first hits of the game in the fourth. Emma Lang and Allison Glover both recorded singles, but South pulled off a double play that helped to retire the side.

Patriot Brylee Hatcher hit a lead off double in the bottom of the fourth. Jaiden Vargas was hit by a pitch to get a second runner aboard. Both were brought home by a single courtesy of Marcum.

The final hit of the game was a single by Megan Brothers for Warren in the top of the fifth. The game ended on a double play by a final of 8-0.

Aubrey Titus pitched the entire five innings for the Patriots while recording two walks and four strikeouts. Sarah Morris pitched the first inning for Warren, with Marina Johnson coming in as a reliever in the second and pitching the next three innings while recording one strikeout.

Parkersburg South head coach Tim Burch highlighted Titus’ performance and gave his thoughts on the win, “Our freshman Aubrey Titus gave up only three hits in five innings, and I thought that was fantastic for our team and for her future. Overall, I think the team played really well tonight.”

The Patriots pulled out all the stops to honor seniors Beatty and Emma Johnson, including fireworks during the ceremony. Burch said of the bittersweet moment, “When you see kids that you’ve been with for four years, it’s hard to see them leave. We were glad to be able to honor them, because they deserve it. I think that went really well. We had fireworks and everything.

“We try to do something a little different to honor them because they give four years of practice after practice and bus ride after bus ride. We tried to honor them as much as we could.”

Parkersburg South has locked down the number one spot in its section, ensuring homefield advantage and a first round matchup against the fourth-seeded Ripley Vikings.

“We’re thankful for that for a couple of reasons. The main reason is we don’t have to travel. Everyone has to come to us. And of course being number one, you get the number four, which helps you a bit. That was our goal at the beginning of the season, to be number one in our section, and the kids did well,” explained Burch.

South hosts Monroe Central at 5 p.m. today. The Patriots will host Ripley for a sectional matchup at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Warren head coach Katie Wells shared her thoughts on the game and gave props to the Patriots, “South came out hitting, and we made a pitching change, which threw off their timing. Marina did a great job as a reliever. We just didn’t get our bats going. You’ve gotta give them credit.”

The Warriors are back in action on Monday, hosting the Logan Chieftains, “Logan is always a good one for us. It’s an old Southeastern Ohio Athletic League rivalry. We love playing them. Coach Huntsberger always has a competitive team, but we get to use a lot of our small ball and sticks to kinda mix it up there. Hosting them is even better, and we’re getting a little bit of a break. We’ve been on a really long two week stretch.”