Bridgeport Eyes State Tournament Return Ahead of Season Opener
By Michael Minnich on March 29, 2026
Standards are always high for Robert Shields’ baseball program.
So even though Bridgeport has gone 21-14, 32-6 and 26-10 the last three years, the pain of not making the state tournament since 2022 after 11 straight trips is motivating this year’s experienced group.
“We lost a good group of seniors,” Shields said. “But I think the strength of this team is pitching depth. We have a lot of good and experienced arms.”
In fact, Bridgeport has 13 players on its roster with a “P/” next to their name as players that can pitch as well as play positions.
“I really like our team speed this year as well,” Shields said. “That gives us a lot more options in terms of being able to put pressure on other teams, which I think causes them to make mistakes and creates opportunities for us.”
Four players that received all-state honors in 2025 return.
Luke Rohrig made the second team as a utility player last year after batting .376 with 18 RBIs and 30 runs scored. He will primarily man center field in his junior year.
“Luke has gotten stronger in this offseason,” Shields said.
The other three were honorable mention picks last year.
Kasen Baun will be playing Division I baseball next year at Ohio University.
Baun batted .301 last year and drove in 19 runs.
“Kasen returns for us,” Shields said. “He’s been a multi-year starter and will play shortstop again for us.”
Salem signee Guy Avolio won four games on the mound and posted 41 strikeouts. He also had a home run at the plate.
“Guy got a lot of good experience pitching in big games last year,” Shields said.
Fairmont State signee Owen Sondericker, who was the winning pitcher in Game 2 of the Tribe’s best-of-3 regional championship series against Frankfort last year, also returns.
“Owen played a lot of first base and pitched for us last year, but he’ll mainly play second base when he’s not pitching this year,” Shields said.
That positional flexibility was a common theme in Shields’ comments.
“Sam Romano will mainly play right field, but he’ll get some time in center as well,” Shields said. “He showed what he can do as a leader during basketball season and we expect to see the same this spring.”
Blake Butcher is back as a high-end pitcher as well.
“Blake has battled some injuries as a sophomore and a junior, but when he’s been healthy, he’s won some big games against top competition for us,” Shields said.
Aidan Dunn also brings that Swiss army knife ability in the field and was an effective reliever last year.
Behind the plate, Christian Farley is one option to replace graduated all-stater Michael Romano.
“He got some time back there when Michael was hurt last year,” Shields said.
Cole Courtney and Cole Arnett also caught at the JV level last year.
Anthony Julian, Jax McNally, Brady Elliott, Mason Bowen, Brooks Vass, Cooper Straley, Talan Thomas and Dom Fazalare are also in the pitching stable for Shields and all or most will see time in the field as well.
Jackson Edgell will miss the season due to injury.
It’s the first year for the state baseball tournament field to expand to eight teams per class, so two teams from each region will advance.
Bridgeport is slotted with Elkins, Hampshire, Keyser, Lewis County and Robert C. Byrd.
As usual, the Tribe will face a gauntlet of a schedule to get ready for that regional.
After opening at Preston on March 31, Bridgeport will head to Marshall University’s Jack Cook Field, the site of that expanded state tournament, to play Herbert Hoover, PikeView and Cabell Midland.
An April 6 away date with Lewis County will be followed by the home openers against Class AA state runner-up Philip Barbour on April 7 and an experienced and talented RCB club on April 8.
Bridgeport then heads to West Virginia University and Mylan Park for games in the Mon Valley Classic on April 10 and 11.
Three conference games (April 13 at home against Buckhannon-Upshur, April 14 at home against East Fairmont and April 16 at Grafton) set up the annual McDonald’s Classic on April 17-18.
The Tribe’s portion: Wheeling Park and Washington on Friday, then Cabell Midland and Fort Hill (Md.) on Saturday.
Buckhannon-Upshur, East Fairmont, East Hardy, Fairmont Senior, Herbert Hoover, Independence, Lincoln, Linsly, Morgantown, North Marion, Northern Garrett (Md.), Parkersburg South, Pendleton County, Philip Barbour, Robert C. Byrd, South Harrison, University and Williamstown will also take part in the high-level, sprawling event, which will utilize the fields at Bridgeport, Robert C. Byrd, The Bridge and South Harrison on Friday and BHS, RCB, SH and East Fairmont on Saturday.
Home dates with Elkins (April 20), Morgantown (April 21) and University (April 22) follow, then it’s a road trip for Fairmont Senior (April 23), Woodbridge, Va. (April 24), Jefferson (April 25), North Marion (April 27), University (April 28) and Wheeling Park (April 30).
The home schedule concludes with Parkersburg South (May 1) and Lincoln (May 4) before visits to RCB (May 5) and Morgantown (May 6).
After regional play, the state tournament begins exactly a month after the end of the regular season on June 6, running through June 13.
