Ty Sturm pitches during the most recent Parkersburg Catholic baseball in 2019. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG – Pieces are falling into the place.

Baseball is back at Parkersburg Catholic High School. And their female counterparts are joining in on the spring fever with the creation of a softball program.

“We’ve talked about having those two sports at Catholic for some time,” Parkersburg Catholic athletic director Jason Ward said. “We had girls and boys who were interested – we told them they need to be serious and we need a firm commitment to pursue and field a team. If we had enough kids, we would start to make it happen.

We’ve got 12 to 13 boys for baseball and the same number of girls interested for softball. The numbers are growing. We want to get Parkersburg Catholic back on the map and raise it up.”

Currently, the school is in the process of working with boosters, fundraising for uniforms and posting for coaching candidates.

“We are hoping to find coaching candidates who want to get involved,” Ward said. “Someone might come out of the woodwork.”

Ward could not pin down the last time PCHS fielded a softball team, or if ever the Crusaderettes fielded one at all.

Baseball lost its steam during COVID. At that time, the program played its home games in Davisville. What was once a baseball diamond has now been replaced by oil pipes by landowners.

Ward is working with the city of Parkersburg and Parkersburg High School athletic director Chris Way about possibly coordinating home games at City Park’s Bennett Stump Field.

As for softball home games, Ward has several options he is looking into.

Scheduling is another avenue Ward is finding his way through. This past academic year marked the end of their membership in the Little Kanawha Conference. PCHS can turn to its peers in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference as well as schools in the area. The Crusaders also seek to re-connect with private institutions such as Wheeling Central Catholic and Charleston Catholic.

“It’s an excellent time for Catholic athletics and the growing process,” said Ward, who pointed out student enrollment for the 2025-26 jumped from 84 to 105 from the previous year. The eighth grade class arriving for their freshman year in the fall figures to increase that total.

“We now have more to offer. And with the elementary coming over here as part of our campus, that should build interest. People don’t realize how close we were to closing the doors for the elementary.”