The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

LAHEIM Bell and his Vero Beach Baseball programme are poised for a run in the state tournament following a disappointing loss in the district championship.

Vero Beach, ranked No. 7 in the field, will face No. 2 Palm Beach Gardens today in the Region 3-7A Florida High School Athletic Association state tournament.

Other first round matchups will include No. 8 Palm Beach Central at No. 1 Jupiter, No. 5 Park Vista at No. 4 Osceola and No. 6 Lake Nona at No. 3 West Boca Raton.

Vero Beach finished the season 18-6 and lost to No.1 ranked Jupiter in last month’s District 10-7A championship.

In 24 games this season, Bell is hitting .388 with 31 hits, five home runs, four doubles, three triples, 28 RBI, 22 runs scored and six stolen bases while slugging .700 with a 1.167 OPS.

He opened the season with an RBI triple and a run scored in an 11-2 win over Satellite and followed with a three run home-run and scored two runs in an 11-1 win over Heritage.

In a 19-2 win over Sebastian River, Bell went 2-3 with a home-run, a triple, four RBI and two runs scored and in a 10-0 win over Bayside, he went 2-5 with a double, a run and an RBI. In the teams second win over Sebastian River (9-1), he finished 2-4 with a home-run and two RBI.

Already an early signee for the Jackson State baseball programme next spring, he improved on his numbers posted in his junior season.

In 23 games for Vero Beach as a junior last season, he hit .419 with a 1.100 OPS, 26 hits, 18 RBI, a team-leading two home runs and scored 16 runs. The Indians were eliminated in the Regional Quarterfinal with a 3-0 loss to Palm Beach Central.

The 6’1”, 225-pound catcher and utility player was announced as a member of the 2022 early signing class for Jackson State Tigers baseball programme in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Bell and the other signees will join the Tigers in the Spring 2023 season. The group includes three pitchers, one outfielder, one catcher and one infielder, including a two-way player.

“I’m super excited about our early signing class,” Tigers head coach Omar Johnson said. “We look forward to seeing our fans out at Thee ‘Bob’ this spring.”