Common Goal: Rohrig and Baun showcase present and future for Bridgeport

All players are silent, taking a disciplined knee while lasering in on Shields as he raised a hand to recount a story from 2018.

The scene is Charleston — it’s the state championship game. Wayne led Bridgeport 7-1 in the second inning and 10-5 in the third before a burst of rain delayed the game for an hour and 16 minutes.

In the huddle Thursday, Shields recalls rain. He probably remembers what it was like to wait for what may have felt inevitable.

But inevitability is only true when the inevitable happens — or at least that’s a fancy way of saying Bridgeport avoided it. Scoring nine runs in the sixth inning, Bridgeport took its first lead of the game with only one inning to spare.

The Tribe held on.

“They made me a believer,” Shields said after that game. It was the fifth straight state championship at the time. “It didn’t matter what kind of score it was, I knew they had the fight to come back.”

While Shields didn’t quite tell the whole story, he said enough to send that tradition of winning coursing through his players. The red face of Tyler Pitzer, screaming in elation after clinching a state championship with a strikeout, is the standard six years later.

“This is what we’re here for,” one of 10 seniors said as Shields tossed it to them.

Zach Rohrig’s head peeks from the crowd as he nods in agreement. He points a swift finger in agreement before clapping his hands together.

“There’s always a goal in high school, and you and I both know what that is,” Rohrig said after a win against Jefferson earlier this season. “We want to play in Charleston.”

— ——— —

Another head is tucked in the fold. Kasen Baun is one of the guys who often gets two swift claps during Shields’ speeches. He’s a sophomore this season, and he just hit a home run in the game against Byrd.

He and Rohrig have traded places in the batting lineup in recent weeks. Baun is now the leadoff hitter.

“He’s feeling his way as the leadoff guy,” Shields said after the win against Robert C. Byrd. “Since we made that move, his on-base percentage has increased. He’s filling that role well.”

Rohrig now serves as someone to bring him home.

“We need Zach at that three spot,” Shields said. “We have the speed up top with Kasen, so Zach can do some things to get him in. Our lineup feels close to what we need heading into the playoffs.”

The two are the heart of the infield. Rohrig takes second while Baun is shortstop. Michael Romano fires a ball from his position at catcher to them during warmups. The two rarely, if ever, miss the grab.

“There’s a bond there,” Rohrig said. “I’ve known Kasen for a while. We both played there last year, so we have that chemistry.”

Baun is the definition of being ahead of the curve. As a sophomore, he’s risen the ranks as one of the team’s best fielders and most consistent batters. He also is a cog in the Bridgeport pitching machine.

“It’s great,” Baun said. “My coaches have gotten me prepared for it. I’ve always been coached right, so I just get up and play the game.”

In a game with Goretti, the young Baun struck out a player committed to play at Virginia Tech. He held him without a hit in his time on the mound. Baun simply didn’t care, saying that he just plays the game.

“It’s good to see him make this progress as a sophomore,” Shields said after that game. “If he peaks at the right time, it’ll be a perfect opportunity for him to continue his career after high school.”

Baun spends time with his father for the majority of his conditioning and offseason practice. He sacrifices time in other sports to focus on baseball.

“I have my dad out practicing with me every day,” Baun said. “We go to the field. He throws me BP all the time. We play all the time. I get my reps in and out of the field every day.”

That level of dedication is what makes Shields call him a student of the game. His growth continues as he is one of seven sophomores on Bridgeport’s roster and one of 11 underclassmen that see significant playing time that can return next season.

Baun, though, is much like Rohrig. If you ask him what he hopes he’s accomplished in three or four years, he focuses on right now.

“I want to win a state championship,” Baun said. “That’s the goal.”

— ——— —

Zach Rohrig was voted as the state’s best running back during his senior season of football. For some, it may come as a surprise that he has such a strong love for baseball.

In the antithesis of what everything you have read may tell you, he’s a fan of failure.

“Baseball is a game of failure,” Rohrig said after a win over Jefferson. “It takes a lot of mental toughness to be great. That’s what I love about it.”

At the time that he said that, Rohrig said he wasn’t having the best year. He talked of his potential improvement along with the rest of the team as they left Kendrick Family Ballpark with a win over one of the state’s best teams.

A few nights later, he hit his first home run of the season to prove his point.

Rohrig has hopes of collegiate baseball. He’s an all-state selection and has consistently proven himself to be one of the state’s best athletes, regardless of sport.

“I’m not sure yet,” Rohrig said in April. “I’m definitely interested in playing college baseball. Where, I don’t know right now. I’d also have to figure out what I would want to major in.”

He is one of 10 seniors on Bridgeport’s roster chasing the feeling the Indians last had in 2021. At the time, a global pandemic was the only thing interrupting seven straight state titles. The Tribe hasn’t won the big one since.

“This senior class has been together for a while now,” Rohrig said. “I think us finally being seniors, we have a lot relying on us. We have 10 seniors, and we all contribute. No matter if you’re on the bench or not, we’re all in it for one goal — win a championship.”

The essence of that goal is rooted in that speech that Shields gave on Thursday.

For every miraculous win, there is a team like Wayne — one that watches certainty slip from its grasp.

“We can’t be happy with one big inning,” Shields said Thursday. “We can’t rest. We have to score every time. In the postseason, everyone plays their best baseball. We have to be ready.”

There is no hill unclimbable, for either team. Part of what Rohrig loves about baseball is that uncertainty. You only have to be the best when it matters most.

“Any team in the state can be the team,” Rohrig said. “It’s literally all in how you play on any given day. It’s great.”

Bridgeport is the top seed in the Class AAA Region I, Section 2 tournament as playoffs begin next week.