7A-10 Preview: Vero Beach Heavy Favorites In 4-Team District

Only one team in 7A-10 has a winning record at publishing time, and it seems like Space Coast No. 4 Vero Beach isn’t likely to lose its second game of the season in district play.

A four-team district doesn’t leave much margin for error. The playoffs start in the semifinals, and none of the three Palm Beach clubs are ranked high enough to threaten for a regional berth without winning it all. Everyone is chasing Vero Beach, but the gap might be too big to overcome.

Let’s take a look at each team’s prospects.

7A-10 District Playoff Schedule

Location: Higher seed hosts

Semifinals – Tuesday (5/2)

No. 1 Vero Beach vs. No. 4 Treasure Coast @ 7:00 p.m.

No. 2 Centennial vs. No. 3 Central @ 7:00 p.m.

Finals – Thursday (5/4)

Winner (Semifinal 1) vs. Winner (Semifinal 2) @ 7:00 p.m.

Centennial – Team Page

Eagles manager Vic Garcia has led the program to a similar record (10-13) in each of his three seasons at the helm, but the Eagles haven’t been able to get over the hump and make a district championship appearance. This could be the year.

Centennial is 4-2 in its last six and will have a home-field advantage against a team it’s beaten twice this season in the district semifinal. Seniors John Riordan III and Zach Staples are innings eaters on the mound, and sophomore Giovanni Lopez is tearing it up at the plate with a .378 batting average.

Taking care of Central for a third time would grant Centennial a district-championship berth and serve as a major step forward for the program.

Fort Pierce Central – Team Page

The Cobras are the closest team to .500 in the district, but they won’t get a home-field advantage at any point in the playoffs. Fortunately, Central tightened things up against Centennial on the road and fell 3-2 in Port St. Lucie after losing badly at home early in the season.

Charlie Passanante leads the offense with a .429 batting average, but it’s going to take a team effort to get some run support going for the pitching staff.

The table is set for an epic redemption story in the district semifinal, but the Eagles are going to play their best baseball of the season against the Cobras.

Treasure Coast – Team Page

The Titans have dropped 11 of the last 12 games, which means they are the No. 4 seed in the district and will have to face Vero Beach in the opening round. It’s a tough draw for a team that features a trio of talented arms and several strong bats, but those are the breaks in a four-team district.

Junior Logan Zavala has been a strong two-way star for the Titans, slashing .429/.528/.533 at the plate and maintaining a 3.32 ERA through 31.2 innings on the mound. Seniors Kyle Peterson and Greyson Cripps are also innings eaters that have kept runs from scoring all year long.

Treasure Coast did play a close game against Vero Beach earlier in the year, falling 7-4, but a trio of losses to in-district teams since have the Titans entering May has major underdogs.

Vero Beach – Team Page

The Indians have dropped just one game all year long. Only Merritt Island has beaten Vero Beach, and the Mustangs are one of the top teams in Class 4A.

Seniors Blake Holshouser and Brock Thomas give the Indians a strong 1-2 on the mound, and freshman Cody Morgan is a good third option to start or come out in relief. The entire starting lineup is hitting above .250, with two-thirds of the batters averaging .300 or more. Junior Chase Wilson has been particularly dangerous, batting .407 with 34 runs batted in.

It would be surprising to see Vero Beach drop a game before reaching regional play, but stranger things have happened in the past.

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