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.”

After surrendering the lead late, Venice immediately responded to claim the victory with their 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.

“Even the guys who struggle early in the game, they will come back and get the big hit,” Faulkner said. “Beau Daniels struck out a couple of times early and then he came back and got the big double down the line. These kids do have a lot of confidence, and they should, because they played a really tough schedule and they have 30-something wins.”

Venice kept swinging away to grab the lead back. Kohen Poplin singled to right to finally chase Vero Beach starter 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.

While the outcome was what most expected, it was not as easy as just assuming it would happen. The Venice players had excellent poise and body language with every adversity they faced, but that does not change the fact that their season was on the brink with very few outs remaining.

“Maybe it looks calm, like a duck above the water but the feet are going crazy,” Faulkner said. “That’s what it felt like in the dugout; the feet were going crazy. But they do have a lot of confidence. We’ve battled all year and we played the best teams in the nation, and we’ve come back from behind several times. So those are the kind of players that we have. They don’t give up, they don’t down and they don’t get down on each other. They come through in big moments.”

Now back in front, Venice starter Carter Cox finished off his complete-game outing with a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 top of the seventh. The senior left-hander allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk, with eight strikeouts.

“I’ve been thinking about this moment ever since I moved to Florida,” Cox said. “I grew up in Venice and playing for Venice, I’ve really grown through this program. Each year we’ve gotten better and better, and it’s pretty cool to see that we’re breaking through this year and having a great season. It’s really our team bonding and chemistry that we all have together. We’ll have team dinners together and have Bible studies together. Our camaraderie and team character is morally what’s gotten us to this pint.”

Venice has won six state championships overall, including back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. Being back in the championship game for the first time since is something these current players have waited a long time for. They have seen the plaques and trophies at the field, and certainly have heard the stories passed down through the program. Now it is their time and chance to add to that legacy.

“It really is just a dream for me,” senior Maddox Volk said. “I came to the 2018 and 2019 championships when I was around nine or ten, and that was a cool experience to watch. It’s a dream to be here. I don’t have too many games left in my career, so I am just out here playing as hard as I can. Our team, as a whole, we’ve been in tough situations like this. We’ve been in the tournament in Cary in NHSI, and it’s the same feel where you have to win or you’re done.”

Coach Faulkner set a theme this year for them known as “BTB”, to “Break The Barrier” and be the group to get through the gauntlet of the regional playoffs and return Venice to the state Final Four. The hard work began back in the fall, and since those early mornings to now the team has worked tirelessly to accomplish this goal. Now the “BTB” theme has been slightly adjusted to “Bring Title Back”.

“We’ve been showered with blessings,” Faulkner said. “This is a team that has a lot of faith and they display their faith every day. It’s pretty cool.”

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