For those of you worrying that Bridgeport High School Coach Robert Shields and his Indians baseball team may be in a bit of a rebuilding mode, it may be wise to relax a bit. It’s been the case more than once in the last few years.

 

The result?

 

Bridgeport heads into the 2018 season as the four-time defending Class AA state champions – a feat no other program in any class can say. And they are also coming off a year where they went 31-7, including going 24-3 after a 7-4 start to the year.

 

The script is similar for 2018. The Indians are without four full-time starters due to graduation in Drew Hefner, J.T. Harris, Brine Takahashi and Gordon Swiger. They are missing four part-time starters and standout pitcher, fielder and batter Cooper Hineman may miss the entire season due to injury, Shields said.

 

With that in mind, Shields must not be feeling good about his team’s chances, right? Actually, that would be wrong.

 

“I’m confident we can have a good season. Where that leads us, I don’t know,” said Shields who has coached the team since the 1987 season. “It’s a matter of putting the pieces of the puzzle together to see who can perform against another tough schedule that we have.”

 

Last year, the schedule came together after the Indians’ annual trip to the panhandle and Virginia. While away from home, the Tribe put it together.

 

“Everyone clicked and when we came back I felt like we had a shot because we played good ball and, most important, the kids bonded,” said Shields. “That was a great thing, but as a coach you hope to see that take place in the first game. The big thing in the overall scheme is to be ready come tournament time.”

 

Filling the big shoes of all-state and multiple award winner Hefner at catcher will be junior Ethan Perry. Perry will be backed up by sophomore Trey Pancake.

 

“He’s got a strong arm and he’s a nice-sized kid,” said Shields of Perry. “He’s one of the tallest catchers I’ve had since Hunter Fain and was a bullpen catcher last year that got a lot of experience working with our pitchers.”

 

At first base, a lot of moving parts are involved. Shields said senior Nate Cole will be starting with Tim Via backing up. Others could also see time there if needed.

 

“They’re both good targets at first base,” Shields said.

 

Koby Kiefer is the first of the returning starters to be mentioned. The senior will be back in the fold at second base to help solidify the middle of the infield, while junior Evan Ogden will back him up.

 

“He’s got good, soft hands and is an athlete that makes up what we think is a pretty good group of middle infielders,” said Shields.

 

For the past four years, all of which ended in state titles, Shields has had Dante Bonamico or Harris at shortstop. That combination gave him top of the line athletes at the critical position. Shields said he has faith in Tyler Pitzer to step in there.

 

“He’s a tall, long rangy kid who’s going to pitch for us. The big thing that has helped is that he played a lot this summer and has improved a lot,” said Shields.

 

There is help behind Pitzer when he goes to the mound or needs a break from the action. Sophomore Nick Stalnaker and freshman Ryan Goff are both capable to fill in as needed.

 

Third base is another area where experience is strong. Senior Chapin Murphy will return and provides the intangibles Shields said the team needs.

 

“He’s just a solid corner man. Here’s a kid who started in the title game his sophomore year and hasn’t come out of the lineup since,” said Shields. “He’s tough as nails.”

 

Murphy, who will also throw this year off the mound, has plenty of help behind him. Stalnaker and junior Vincenzo Cava – two of the Indians’ top utility players – will fill that spot when necessary.

 

In the outfield, Shields said everything is a work in progress. He said, as of Friday morning, with only one day of outside practice he’s not sure exactly how things will shape up.

 

“We’re still trying to piece together our outfield,” said Shields. “We know we’ve got Brayden Lesher out there, but he’ll be on the mound a lot so we need people to step up.”

 

Lesher was a force in the outfield last year and just as strong on the mound. Shields is hoping to pair him with a combination of senior Brice Haines, junior Austin Sponaugle, Cava, junior Tanner Bifano and sophomore Devin Vandergrift.

 

“For someone looking for a shot, the outfield is a prime area where that can happen,” said Shields.

 

As for the designated hitter position, Shields said he’s pretty well set in on who will handle that. Right now, the role will be filled by junior Drew Harbert.

 

“He’s just solid at the plate and he hits with power,” said Shields.

 

At pitcher, the Indians will have a bevy of arms. Lesher, the right-hander, returns after starting last year’s title game. However, the loss of Hineman due to injury will sting.

 

“Experience is going to be key and losing Cooper is tough,” said Shields. “He had some experience for sure and he had talent too. Hopefully, we’ll see the kids develop because we play a heavy schedule with a lot of games on weekends and we need a lot of pitchers to survive that.”

 

The pitching staff consists of Kiefer, Goff, Pitzer, Cole, junior Mark Lavezza, Stalnaker, Via, Bifano and Murphy – all right-handed hurlers. Sponaugle is the only southpaw on the varsity roster. Along with Lesher, Shields said that Via, Murphy and Pitzer all got varsity experience last year and several others on the roster got quality innings as part of a full slate of junior varsity games.

 

Shields said some of the open positions and some of the innings where players will be needed could be filled by those starting the year on junior varsity. He said there are “three or four kids” the staff has their eye on that may move up if they show the ability to contribute. As for the varsity roster now, Shields is happy with where the team is at.

 

“We have a tall task ahead, but I have faith even though we lost a lot of players. I don’t want anyone to think I’m singing the blues because everyone goes through losing players to graduation so we’ll give it a run with what we have,” said Shields, who said he’ll again lean on his seniors to lead the way. “The reason I’m optimistic is that there’s competition for playing time right now and I want that competition to make them hungry to play and win.”

 

The Indians open their defense of the state championship March 29 with a visit to Clarksburg Liberty. The first home game is set for April 3 against Grafton.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows senior third baseman Chapin Murphy, while Coach Robert Shields is in the second photo. Seniors Koby Kiefer and Brice Haines and in the third and fourth photos, respectively. Photos by Joey Signorelli of www.benqueenphotography.com.