For the second time in the last three years, Vero Beach High has made the chance to make school history by delivering the program’s first baseball state championship.
At most, two teams stand in Vero’s way. And the team immediately in its path just so happens to be ranked second in the nation.
Vero Beach faces its toughest test in the year when it takes on Venice in a Class 7A state semifinal on Friday, May 15 from Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
Watch Vero Beach vs. Venice in Class 7A baseball state semifinal
Advancing by winning the Region 3-7A title, Vero (24-4) is seeded fourth in the state bracket and enter the game ranked eighth in its classification and 36th overall. Venice (31-1) is the Region 1-6A champion. The team is the top-ranked program in the state.
Can Vero Beach pull of the massive upset? Or will favored Venice about to stroll its seventh state title?
The winner between Martin County and Buchholz would face the winner of Hagerty and Stoneman Douglas at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 16.
Treasure Coast Newspapers is bringing you live updates, scores and highlights from the game. Follow along.
Vero Beach vs. Venice state semifinal updates
Venice’s starting pitcher – Carter Cox
The senior is 13-0 with 116 strikeouts and a 0.29 ERA through 72 innings pitched. First pitch comes at 4:04 p.m. from Cox. After four pitches, he gets leadoff hitter Nate Downey to ground out to shortstop.
Vero rocking its home whites
Despite being the road team on the scoreboard, Vero Beach is wearing home white jerseys with red pants.
Welcome back to Fort Myers
First pitch is approximately 10 minutes away as Vero Beach is set to take on Venice for the right to play for a state championship at Hammond Stadium. According to AccuWeather, it is 88 degrees with mostly sunny conditions.
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: Vero Beach vs. Venice: Live score updates from 7A baseball state semis
Reporting by Patrick Bernadeau, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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