PARKERSBURG — Colin Bryant wiggled his way out of two bases-loaded jams en route to working five frames and Drew Cochran slammed the door with a two-inning save as host Parkersburg South defeated rival Parkersburg, 5-2, in the Class AAA, Region IV, Section 1 tournament opener Tuesday night at Hank Greenburg Field. Bryant worked around a hit batsman and four base on balls. He allowed five hits and one earned run as the Patriots improved to 17-11. Parkersburg head coach Alan Burns’ 10-11 squad, which made five errors as losing pitcher Max Anderson allowed just an earned run, are back in action at 7 p.m. today in a must-win affair at top-seeded Ripley. Dustin Corley got the hosts on the board in the second when he grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, which plated Jared Clemente. PHS tied it in the third when Hayden Morris reached on the lone Patriot error and scored on Connor Walker’s RBI double to left. Although Bryant plunked Anderson and then walked Nathan Lindenmuth to load the bases, the Patriot lefty got out of it by fanning Jordan Batten and Nolan Brace. Parkersburg South, which will return to action on Thursday night, took the lead for good in the third. Bryant led off with a single and went to second on an attempted pick-off throw. Following a one-out bunt single by Blake McMullen, Grant Hussey got a sacrifice fly for the 2-1 cushion. Austin Curtis started the top of the fourth by drawing the second of what would be three walks on the night. After shortstop Jackson Wagner had a bunt single, No. 9 hitter T.J. McIntosh sacrificed the runners up a base. Morris then blooped a shot into shallow center, which Cochran nearly got to. The ball dropped just in front of him to load the bases. However, Bryant induced second baseman Connor Walker into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play as Brayden Cline and McMullen turned it. “On to Ripley,” said PSHS skipper Todd Burner. “That was a huge double play by those boys right there. That was big. That definitely shut down an inning and momentum for them and got us back rolling again. Defensively, I thought we played a real good game.” The hosts pushed their advantage to 4-1 via a two-out, two-run fourth. Corley’s single got it started and he was replaced by courtesy runner Dalton Turner. After Nathan Currey walked, the Big Reds made a pair of errors and were down three. PHS got its final tally in the fifth. Anderson singled and went to second on a passed ball, but Hussey made the defensive gem of the evening when he made an over the shoulder basket catch in shallow right to rob Lindenmuth. Hussey then had a nice snag going to his right on a ball hit by Batten and the first baseman tossed to a hustling Bryant, who just beat Batten to the bag. With two outs, Brace’s RBI single to left closed it to 4-2. However, the Patriots got an insurance run in the last of the sixth when Corley walked and Bryant’s bloop single plated Cline, who entered as a pinch-runner. “They know us and we know them. We are just going to stay here and do some hitting and fielding,” replied Burner when asked if the Patriots were making the trek tonight to watch the Big Reds and Vikings. Bryant had the only two-hit game and PHS left nine runners on base, five in scoring position.