Region Baseball: Vero Beach erases 21 years of frustration, earn first state berth since 2003

Inclement weather rolled through Indian River County to halt the Region 3-7 title game.

But when you’re the Vero Beach baseball team and your last Final Four appearance was 21 years ago, another two-plus hours are no sweat.

The wait is finally over for the Indians. Neither mother nature or Harmony could deny them for ending more than two decades of frustration as they snatched up an elusive state berth following a 13-3 victory in five innings on Monday night from Vero Beach High School.

The game went into a lightning delay during the top of the second inning and did not officially resume until 2 hours, 43 minutes had passed. That didn’t slow down the home team, who scored every inning afterwords.

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“The wait has been long, but the kids have been awesome,” Indians head coach Bryan Rahal said. “They’ve worked hard all year and I’m super proud of them.”

After putting up a run in the second and taking the lead with a four-run third, the Indians tacked on two in the fourth before ending the night with a six-run fifth.

Caleb Wood delivered the base hit that ended a marathon night and sent the home side into delirium. The sophomore infielder launched an 1-1 offering from Longhorns reliever Kayden Lyons to right field to bring home two runs. Cole Morgan and Ashton Wetmiller each reached with RBI singles before Wood stepped to the plate.

“In that last at-bat, I tried to stay calm,” said Wood, who finished with 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs. “I was seeing fastballs elevated. In my first at-bat, I got fastballs and drove it that same way, so I kind of just kept that same approach.

“We came to the ballpark today definitely looking for the W, especially since it’s been 20 years. This is a special group, so we really wanted it this year.”

Meanwhile on the mound, Cody Morgan stepped up in the biggest game of his prep career as he bounced back from early troubles.

Harmony scored in the second as Angel Medina jumped on the sophomore’s first pitch after the weather delay for an RBI bloop single. The Longhorns added two more runs in the third thanks to an opposite-field RBI double from Samuel Castillo and an RBI single by Clayton Williams.

From there Cody Morgan settled in, pitching out of a jam in the fourth and retired the heart of Harmony’s lineup in order in the fifth.

“I came back with my best stuff and had a lot of confidence with my offense so they could help me come back and get this win,” the sophomore pitcher said. “Having confidence is really big.”

Vero Beach was the second seed in the Region 3-7A bracket while the Longhorns were the No. 4 seed. After improving their record to 24-4, the Indians are the fourth seed in the Class 7A state bracket. They’ll take on top-seeded Stoneman Douglas at 4 p.m. Friday from Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

The Eagles are the three-time defending champions. They advanced by defeating West Broward 4-0. In the other state semifinal, No. 2 Windermere faces No. 3 Timber Creek.

Here are four takeaways from Monday's game.

Holmes homer energizes Indians

With a young squad to work with and only three seniors to help lead, Rahal entered this season with plenty of questions.

However, Finley Holmes has answered the call all year, and did it once more Monday to lift his squad. Leading off the bottom of the third and his team down 3-1 on the scoreboard, the senior outfielder put a jolt into the offense by blasting a solo home run over the left-field fence off Longhorns starter Alexavier Lebron.

"He left me a fastball over the middle and I got a good piece of it," Holmes said. "Obviously, it wasn't just all me though. It sparked us and the boys fed off of that. We put three more runs that inning, so that was a huge momentum shifter."

"As great a player as he is, he even a greater person," Rahal said. "His work ethic, his kindness and who he is as a person, he deserves that moment. We needed and he put a great swing on a good pitch."

Holmes used small ball in his next at-bat, reaching with a bunt single. The Palm Beach Atlantic signee was intentionally walked in his final plate appearance. But the senior's homer was his most significant contribution, in part it exposed the Harmony's weakness: pitching depth.

Lebron didn't throw another pitch the rest of the night as he was lifted for a slew of relievers that were ineffective.

"I got you, Coach"

Cody Morgan had just wrapped up his warmup pitches and was ready to face Longhorns junior Nate O'Neill to get the night rolling. But seconds before the right-hander toed the rubber, his batterymate and older brother Cole Morgan jogged toward the mound for one final pep talk.

"He said, 'Take a deep breath, you got this. You prepared for this and your best is better than their best, so go at them,'' the sophomore recalled.

Cody Morgan was at his best in the first and fifth, as he retired the side in order. He believes his ability to locate each of his five pitches, particularly his slider, was the key to his evening.

"What I've seen from him all year long is that bulldog effort and warrior mentality," Rahal said. "He got better as the game went on. ... He looked at me before the game started and said, 'I got you, Coach. Don't worry, I got you.' And sure enough, he battled through some tough situations, got out of it, overcame adversity and did what Cody does."

Taking it easy

So what does a rain delay look like during the biggest game of the year?

A pretty relaxing time if you were wearing a red and white uniform as the players stayed loose.

"We went into the locker room and we actually just hung out and talked," Holmes said. "We actually played a little bit of guitar and chilled out. When we got back on the field, we knew it was time to lock back in and take care of business. And we did just that."

There was initial uncertainty about the game resuming due to more inclement on the radar. Vero Beach was open to restarting the game on Tuesday, but with three-hour roundup drive looming, Harmony opted to finish the game on Monday night.

Why not us?

How long ago was May 2003?

The Red Sox had yet to break the Curse of the Bambino. LeBron James had yet to play in an NBA game. The first iPhone was four years from being released. Tom Brady owned just one Super Bowl ring. And 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' was the No. 1 album in the country.

That's how long it's been since Alex Cobb, Stephen Byrd and head coach Jeff Steinman guided the Indians to its last Final Four appearance.

But to a man, the players, none of whom were alive in 2003, didn't shy away from the challenge of breaking a two-decade long drought. Instead, they faced it head on, embracing multiple slogans and phrases that the coaching staff hammered from the very start of the season.

"We just kept preaching family, togetherness and then the saying 'Why not us?' Rahal said. "Why can't we do something? Why can't we make a run? We just have to figure out a way to compete and scrap. They just took that mantra on and went to work with it."

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Baseball: Vero Beach take down Harmony, reach state for first time since 2003