Venice Rallies Past Vero Beach To Reach 7A Final

When you get to this point in the playoffs, you empty the chamber trying to win.

Squaring off against a Goliath in the top-seeded Venice Indians, the Vero Beach Indians came out firing with everything they had. Late in the action they had the favorites cornered up against the ropes, with the lead on their side and looking to land the final knockout blow.

But the prizefighters were never out of the battle. With confidence and poise, Venice rallied back for three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 4-2 win over Vero Beach in the Class 7A state semifinal at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. The number one ranked team in most national polls, Venice (32-1) now advances to the championship game on Saturday night against the record-holding, five-time defending state champion Douglas Eagles.

“We battled,” Venice Manager Craig Faulkner said. “It’s a hot day and Vero Beach is a really good team. That pitcher is tough. He throws hard and he throws a lot of strikes, and I think he only walked one guy. So we knew we had to battle. So I really like how our guys fought back today. They stayed calm and got some big hits when we needed them.”

Vero Beach starter Cody Morgan capped a stellar high school career by throwing a gem against the top-ranked team in the nation. He battled into the sixth inning and kept his team in the contest, and in the top of the sixth inning his offense responded to reward him with the lead.

The first three batters all reached base to get it going for Vero. Jordan Tomas walked and was replaced by courtesy-runner Eli Thiemann, Nate Downey singled on a bunt to third and Dom Lopez dropped down a bunt and reached on an error that allowed Thiemann to race home for Vero’s first run that tied the game. Caleb Wood then supplied a sac-fly RBI to right field that put Vero on top 2-1 when Downey tagged up and scored.

“It was a little uncharacteristic defensively on some plays that we made today, and we threw some balls away,’ Faulkner said. “That’s usually not like us, but it can happen any time you are on a big stage like this and it’s loud and you don’t hear well and there is a lot of pressure.”

After surrendering the lead late, Venice immediately responded to claim the victory with its sixth-inning comeback. Catcher Beau Daniel sent a double down the left-field line, and then gave way on the bases to courtesy-runner Kane Judson, who quickly came around to tie the game thanks to an RBI single from Maddox Volk.

Venice kept swinging away to grab the lead back. Kohen Poplin singled to right to finally chase Cody Morgan from the game for reliever Colt Miller. August Backman worked a 2-0 count and then jumped on the next offering for an RBI single that plated the winning run. Kohen Poplin later added a valuable insurance run on a balk call.

“It was an honor to be here and be a part of a terrific season with a bunch of great young men,” Vero Beach Manager Bryan Rahal said. “I’m truly blessed as a coach. We were excited about the opportunity to play the number one team in the country, and we really expected to come in here and beat them. We were prepared and we were ready, and we were excited to play the game. To be right there and have a lead in the sixth inning is tough. We were in a good spot and the team deserved to win the game, so right now my biggest hurt is for my team.”

Anything other than a title is less than what teams come to the state tournament for, but it doesn’t take a trophy to recognize this team, this program and the valiant effort that showed exactly why this group got this far. After making its first-ever trip to the state tournament two seasons ago, the players this year helped established this culture as a top-contender at the highest level of the playoffs. They focused on who they are and what got them there, and it took the best effort from the top-ranked team in the country in order to defeat them.

“On the bus ride here we had super camaraderie and we were all together,” Nate Downey said. “We were willing it for each other in the dugout and we were really just thinking to go attack this as a team and not individually. We played together.”

Perhaps no player exemplified that togetherness more than their ace leader, Cody Morgan. He was fearless in his approach against the challenging Venice lineup, but just as he has throughout his four-year career, his focus and execution was flawless. He worked both corners of the plate with precision, attacking the zone and challenging them to swing at the pitches that he wanted them to.

Morgan allowed four runs on six hits and two walks over five-and-two-third innings. He struck out seven, even though that was not the approach.

“Going into it, I knew I wasn’t going to strike a lot of kids out and that I would have to rely on my defense behind me. I just pitched to contact and let my guys do the work,” Morgan said. “They are hard to get out. They are a very competitive team at the plate and they spoil a lot of pitches and drive a pitch-count up.”

A huge boost for Cody Morgan and the rest of the Vero Beach players came from the massive amount of fan support they had at the game, as well as all throughout the season. Fans packed their side of the stadium and were vocally supportive in a positive and encouraging anthem that reminds the team just how massively the community supports it.

“I coach at one of the greatest places you could ever coach at,” Rahal said. “I’m very fortunate to be here. We have a great town; it’s small in stature but mighty in heart and mighty in loyalty and fan-base. They show up no matter where we go, and back home they were firing texts all day from all over. From every age group of little elementary kids up to 85-year olds, they were out to cheer on the bus as we drove off. So we’re blessed at where we are and what we have, and I wish we could have found a way to win. The town and community and the school deserve that win.”

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