Parkersburg South pitcher Anniston Shelton sturck out 19 during Monday's 6-1 win at Wheeling Park. (Photo by Kim North)

WHEELING – Annie Shelton wasn’t perfect like she was in her previous Ohio County appearance this season, but she was just as dominant inside the circle Monday night.

The Parkersburg South freshman struck out a career-high 19 in a 6-1 nod over Wheeling Park on sunny, but crisp Patriots Field. Against Wheeling Central 10 days prior, Shelton authored a perfect game with 17 punchouts.

“She’s pretty good for just being a freshman,” Parkersburg South head coach Tim Burch said of his ace inside the circle. “We usually get her 2 or 3 runs and see what happens after that.”

The Wood County Patriots (8-5) snapped a five-game losing streak after a 7-0 start. They took a 2-0 lead in the first when Kylee Conley belted the first pitch she saw from Emma Wear well over the fence in center. The blast scored Shelton who had reached on a fielder’s choice.

Parkersburg South added to their margin in the second by going deep twice. After Kailey Lockhart reached on an error, catcher Payten Mackey sent a drive over the fence in left-center for a 4-0 advantage. Two batters – and two outs – later, Shelton sent a rocket over the fence in right-center for a 5-0 lead.

Parkersburg South's Kylie Conley rounds the bases after hitting a home run during Monday's 6-1 win at Wheeling Park. (Photo by Kim North)

“We’ve hit a lot of home runs already this season,” Burch said. “Our first seven girls can all go yard. We have a pretty potent lineup and they showed that today.”

The Ohio County Patriots plated their lone run in the bottom of the fourth. Kyle Cunningham reached with a leadoff walk. Courtesy runner Abby O’Donnell stole second – she had three on the day – and went to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Delaney Randolph’s solid single up the middle chased in O’Donnell. Alivia West walked to put runners on first and second, but Shelton fanned the next batter to escape without further damage.

Allison Marcum’s RBI in the fifth restored the five-run margin and capped the scoring.

Shelton fanned the final 11 batters she faced; struck out at least two batters in every inning; fanned every batter at least once and set down a trio of Wheeling Park hitters three times each. Just for good measure, she had four Ks in the sixth inning when Cunningham reached on a dropped third-strike. The Wheeling Park catcher was on base in all three of her plate appearances.

“My girls said she was really hitting her spots,” Wheeling Park head coach Pat Duerkin said. “Once she got ahead of the batters, she controlled them. Her rise ball made us look really bad tonight. We haven’t been dominated like that all season. We’ve put the ball in play and got a lot of base hits, but our bats just didn’t come alive tonight.”