Times Main: Marietta’s Eli McLeish, left, scores on a wild pitch as Parkersburg pitcher Noah Holland fields a throw during Friday’s game at Bennett Stump Field. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

PARKERSBURG — Tomorrow’s a new day — that’s the beautiful thing about baseball.

Twenty-four hours after being no-hit in a 10-0 loss to St. Albans, Parkersburg High righted the ship with an 11-3 win over Marietta Friday at Bennett Stump Field.

Gavin Fling set the tone for the Big Reds with a leadoff triple.

“We’ve had two, three games in a row where we didn’t play very well,” said PHS skipper Alan Burns. “We got refocused there. They’re back into it, so hopefully they’re back the way they were about a week and a half, two weeks ago.”

Parker Woods brought Fling home on a sacrifice fly to center field to put the Big Reds up 1-0 two batters into the game.

Marietta’s Adam Barnett delivers a pitch during a baseball game against Parkersburg Friday at Bennett Stump Field. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“(Fling’s triple) was big,” Burns said. “Last night, (St. Albans pitcher Brogan Samms) shut us down. That showed us right there — we came down and started hitting by 3:30 and we started taking (batting practice). We took it for a good hour, hour and 15 minutes.”

That extra BP paid early dividends for PHS, but the Tigers punched back in the third inning.

The bottom of the order got it started as seven-hole hitter Eli McLeish singled to short. Malachi Booker followed with a base hit to right and nine-hole batter Owen Warden drew a walk, with McLeish scoring on a wild ball four that went to the backstop. Seth Goeller gave Marietta a 2-1 lead on a sac fly, and Warden later crossed the plate on a double-steal.

Parkersburg answered right back. Chaz Elam’s single plated Woods, and Elam later scored on Connor Elkins’ base knock to tie it up at 3-all.

In the bottom of the fourth, PHS took three straight free passes to load the bases with no outs. The Big Reds took the lead for good on Fling’s sac fly. Elam was robbed of a hit when Will Tornes made a diving snag in center, but Elkins followed with a poke to right that brought in Cole Sisk. CJ Carrodus also scored on the play when the throw home got past the catcher, making it 6-3.

Parkersburg’s Parker Woods, right, slides safely into second base as Marietta’s Malachi Booker fields a throw during Friday’s game at Bennett Stump Field. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

The Big Reds added a four-spot in the fifth, with Fling and Woods both picking up RBIs, to put the game out of reach.

On the bump, left-handed Noah Holland went the distance for Parkersburg. He struck out seven batters while working around five walks. He allowed just three singles, but had to do some convincing to stay out there.

“He actually looked better at the end there,” Burns said. “I told him a couple innings earlier I was ready to pull him. He goes, ‘I’m good coach. I can go.’ And then he comes up the last inning, ‘Will you let me finish?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Now remember,’ and he goes, ‘Yeah, I got it.’ I thought he pitched his best in the seventh.”

Adam Barnett started and pitched the first three innings for Marietta before losing his command in the fourth. Bryson Chidester, Zach Birge and Goeller combined to cover the final three frames in relief.

“(Barnett) was able to land a breaking ball for a strike consistently, which was really helpful for him,” said Marietta head coach Kail Hill. “Keeping teams off balance has been a tough challenge for us, but he did it really well.”

Parkersburg’s Gavin Fling, left, scores a run as teammate Chaz Elam awaits with a hi-five during a baseball game against Marietta Friday at Bennett Stump Field. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

The Big Reds, who improved to 14-13 on the year, honored their three seniors prior to the game.

“We wanted to make sure we won for the seniors tonight,” Burns said.

“Chaz and Jaxon (Myers) have been with us all four years. They’re key players for us there. Then you got CJ. He came out the first time as a senior. His pregame message — they said, ‘What would you tell future baseball players,’ and he said, ‘To play all four years.’ I told him, ‘Man, we love you here, but why didn’t you play all four?'”

Burns laughed.

“He dedicated himself to baseball this summer. He’s a great kid. All three of those seniors have meant a lot to us. They’re the picture of what you want for seniors.”

Parkersburg’s Noah Holland delivers a pitch during a baseball game against Marietta Friday at Bennett Stump Field. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

The Tigers dropped to 9-12 this season. They committed four errors in the field and had some miscues on the bases. Holland picked off back-to-back base-runners off first in the second inning, and PHS catcher Evan Schulteis caught three would-be base-stealers.

Marietta pitching issued six free passes.

“It’s kind of a theme for us this year,” Hill said. “It’s just free bases, right? We had a really good three-spot, took the lead, and then we just gave up extra bases. I think we went walk, walk, walk, and then kind of spiraled after that. I feel like if we continue to attack the zone and we play good defense, we’re a tough team. We’re resilient. We never quit in the box, never quit on the field. It’s just a matter of timely hitting and timely plays in the field.”

As the regular season nears its end, both clubs are starting to think about the postseason.

“We told them that we had not had the energy we’d had early in the year,” Burns said. “I saw the energy tonight from the first inning, whether it be the dugout, the guys on the field, whatever — everybody was into the game. I liked having the energy back.”

While Marietta’s numbers have dwindled — the Tigers dressed 11 players Friday, the team itself has grown significantly throughout the year.

“Guys are in different places than I expected them to be, and guys have really stepped up this year,” Hill said. “There’s a handful of guys that have really grown from those sophomores last year to being juniors this year. There’s some growing pains that continue to happen, but with a young group that’ll happen. I’m excited for postseason and to hopefully get a couple wins.”

At Bennett Stump Field

Parkersburg 11, Marietta 3

M 003 000 0 — 3 3 4

P 102 341 x — 11 9 1

WP: Noah Holland 7 IP, 5 BB, 7 SO

LP: Adam Barnett 3 IP, 3 BB, 0 SO

Bryson Chidester 1 IP, 2 BB, 1 SO

Zach Birge .2 IP, 1 BB, 1 SO

Seth Goeller 1.1 IP, 0 BB, 0 SO

Marietta (9-12) hitting: Eli McLeish 1-1, R; Malachi Booker 1-3, R; Goeller RBI; Owen Warden R

Parkersburg (14-13) hitting: Gavin Fling 2-3, 3B, 2 Rs, 2 RBIs; Connor Elkins 2-4, 2 RBIs; Holland 2-4; Cole Sisk 1-2, 2 Rs, RBI; Parker Woods 2 RBIs; CJ Carrodus 2 Rs; Chaz Elam 1-3, R, RBI; Tyler Cameron 1-4, R; Jaxon Myers R; Brady Miller R