With yet another sectional title under their belt and a regional game on tap for Monday, Bridgeport’s baseball team finds itself in a familiar position. The Indians are once again a favorite to get back to Charleston for the Class AA state tournament and among the favorites to win it all.

 

Veteran Coach Robert Shields, whose teams have won an unprecedented five-straight ‘AA’ titles, knows none of that matters. The only thing that matters is Monday’s 6 p.m. game at BHS against Lewis County in the Class AA, Region II best of three series is what stands between the Tribe and at trip back to Appalachian Power Park.

 

“This isn’t last year’s team and Lewis County won’t be the same from the regular season,” said Shields. “On top of that, we’ve got a lot of problems to take care of. We’ve got to figure out again how to hit the ball and move runners around to put runs on the board.”

 

Runs, typically, haven’t been a problem for the Indians this year. The Tribe is currently 26-7 but has scored just 11 runs in their last three games. Those games included a 5-0 sectional clinching win against Elkins, a 6-4 loss to Morgantown – who has beaten BHS three times this season – and a 2-1 win against Notre Dame Wednesday. The final two games were regular season affairs that came after the sectional action due to statewide testing.

 

“In those games we’ve just not been hitting it solid,” said Shields. “We’re flying out too much and it’s a problem consistently throughout the lineup. Eventually, those flyouts become strikeouts. After the Notre Dame game, I told them it was all about the mindset and all the factors that have us struggling at the plate.

 

“The problem is we’re 30-plus games into the season and we’re seeing this,” Shields continued. “I would hope the kids dig down deep and think this is the group that can do that. The thing that’s concerning is they’re doing the thing like keeping their head level and other factors … in batting practice, but it’s not translating to the games. It’s got to be fixed or it’s going to over sooner than later.”

 

Bridgeport got to the regional thanks to a 5-0 one-hit pitching gem vs. Elkins by Tim Via Saturday in a game played at Frank Loria Field. Via went the distance and struck out seven with just two walks.

 

BHS scored solo runs in the fourth and fifth innings before a 3-run sixth game the Tribe some breathing room. Bridgeport managed just four hits in the game. No one had more than one hit, but Trey Pancake collected a triple.

 

“Our mantra is to average a run per inning because we’re of the belief if we have seven runs we’re going to be tough to beat,” said Shields. “In these last few games, there’s been a lot of goose eggs on the scoreboard. We had the same problem against Morgantown and Notre Dame this week.”

 

Shields hopes that changes Monday. The Indians will host game one at 6 p.m. at BHS and then visit Lewis County Tuesday for game two, also at 6 p.m. If needed, a third game would be back at Bridgeport Wednesday at 6 p.m. Shields said Via is one of several pitchers that could get the start Monday.

 

Editor's Note: Photos by Matthew S. DeMaria of www.benqueenphotography.com.