VERO BEACH – The Vero Beach High baseball offense is coming alive at the right time.
After scoring 10 runs in the district semifinal, host Vero Beach put up nine in the first three innings of a 9-0 whitewash of Treasure Coast High on Thursday in the Class 7A-District 10 final.
Recently moved to second in the lineup, Dom Lopez continued his hot streak with a run-scoring triple and a three-run home run to spark the Vero Beach offense.
Vero Beach (19-4) made quick work of St. Lucie West Centennial, 10-0, in five innings Tuesday in the district semifinal.
When asked if he feels the offense is getting into gear, Lopez said, “I do. Absolutely.”
“We’re taking a lot better swings than earlier in the year,” Vero Beach coach Bryan Rahal said. “There’s been a lot more focus in the at bats. Over the last few weeks in practice, the focus has been better on the swing. And they’ve taken that into games.”
Lopez has sparked the offense
Moving from the bottom of the lineup to second during the past couple of weeks, Lopez has flourished in his new spot.
The junior catcher went 2-for-3 and knocked in a pair of runs in the win over Centennial.
“He’s jump-started us a little bit with some energy, toughness and great at bats,” Rahal said. “He’s got the toughest job in sports, a thankless job nonetheless. Being behind the plate all day, every day, being in the bullpen. But he’s always energized. He brings his best performance out.”
After walking in the first inning, Lopez drilled a triple to the left-center field gap in the second. In the third inning with two outs and two runners on, the right-handed hitter socked the first home run of his high school career over the left-field fence.
“It didn’t feel real,” Lopez said. “It didn’t. Not at all.
“A dream.”
Lopez has not changed his approach since moving up in the order.
“I’m seeing fastballs early in the count and driving baseballs,” he said. “That’s really it.”
“He’s a leader,” Rahal said. “Getting him in that two hole to give us a spark and he’s done just what we’ve asked him to do.”
Walker, Miller combine for shutout
Following Cody Miller’s five-inning, one-hitter with 10 strikeouts against Centennial, Brandon Walker and Colt Miller put up zeroes against Treasure Coast.
Walker started and worked the first five innings, allowing five hits. The senior right-hander raised his record to 8-0, lowered his earned run average to 0.54 and increased his strikeout total to 70 in 52 innings.
Also a senior right-hander, Miller retired all six hitters during the final two innings. He has a 3-0 mark with two saves and 46 strikeouts in 23 ⅓ innings.
“We’ve got guys willing to compete, guys that are winning to grind,” Rahal said. “Even some days when they don’t have their best stuff they compete.”
Titans had chances early
Treasure Coast (10-10-1) had base runners in the first five innings. The Titans stranded all six, three in scoring position.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Treasure coach Vic Garcia said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It got away from us early. It seemed like we couldn’t regroup.”
The Titans lost to Vero Beach 3-2 on March 24 during the regular season, stranding the tying run on second in the seventh inning.
“We were hoping to get out of one of those early innings with a zero and get some momentum, but they just kept putting the pressure on,” Garcia said. “They hit the ball well.”
Third straight district title for Vero Beach
Capturing its fifth straight game, Vero Beach won its third straight district title.
“It means more for our guys who work hard every day,” Rahal said. “It’s all about the players. Good attitudes. Ready to get after it in practice every day. It’s not always easy. But they don’t take days off.”
It was Vero Beach’s 16th consecutive win over Treasure Coast and 27th in the past 32 meetings dating back to 2009. The Titans most recent victory over Vero Beach came on March 2, 2018, a 2-1 decision.
“Lets give credit to Vero,” Garcia said. “They’re the standard in the district and they’ve done it for years. A hat goes off to them: excellent program, players.”
Ranked first in Region 3, Vero Beach will be home as long as they are alive in the regionals.
“It means a lot, but we still have more to do,” Lopez said. “We have more to get done.”
“Always nice to be home,” Rahal said.
Treasure Coast was ranked 12th in the region in the recent Florida High School Athletic Association rankings. The top eight teams qualify for the regionals. The regional pairings will be announced Saturday.
“That’s gonna be a tough one, but you never know,” Garcia said. “Like I told my guys, this may not necessarily be the end of the season. Now it’s just a wait and see game.”
If the Titans grab the eighth seed, they could return to Vero Beach for the regional quarterfinals April 24.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: How Vero Beach baseball won its third straight district title
Reporting by Dennis Maffezzoli, Special to TCPalm / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
