Deerfield Stuns Douglas With 13 Run Sixth, Advances To District Final

“Shock the World.” That was what Deerfield Beach Head Coach Scott Bragg wrote on the back of his lineup card for his players to see before their District 10-6A semi-final game with Douglas Tuesday afternoon. The world may not have been shocked, but Broward high school baseball fans could not have been more stunned as the Bucks pulled off their second upset in two days, an 18-15 victory over the Eagles.

Douglas came into the game with the national exposure, having been ranked as high as number two in some national polls, but on Tuesday they were reduced to a team that looked ordinary. Deerfield used what has become a trademark aggressiveness in these playoffs to keep the pressure on Douglas all afternoon, and in the end, it was the Bucks, not the Eagles, celebrating a trip to the district title game.

“Being an old school coach, and a player,” said Deerfield Assistant Coach Roberto Alonso. “No matter what happens, you got to play seven innings. And like an old man used to tell me when I played ball, ‘The ball comes in a square box, but it’s round. We don’t know where the bounces are going to take place, but today the ball bounced our way.'”

Deerfield’s upset bid began in the first inning when the first five batters reached base. Andre Campbell reached on the first of Douglas’ five errors on the day. Drew Danner, Brian Johnson Jr., Kevin Hill, and Nick Baker then hit consecutive singles. Kevin Zarate later added the Bucks fifth hit of the opening frame, and by the end of the inning Deerfield had built a 5-0 lead.

It took the 17-3 Eagles until the third inning before their bats woke up. Douglas used singles by Colton Bottomley, Brandon Raff, Evan Leyva, and Luis Silverio to cut the Deerfield lead to 5-4.

In the fourth, Douglas appeared to end any hope of a Bucks upset when they scored six times. Bottomley, Raff, and Silverio had hits for the second consecutive inning, while Courtland McEachrane and Patrick Kulick added their first hits of the game. A 5-4 deficit turned into a 10-5 lead, and the state-ranked Eagles looked on their way to another district title game appearance.

On this day, however, someone forgot to tell the Bucks that they were supposed to roll over for the perennial District 10-6A powerhouse Eagles. The sixth inning turned out to be one that nobody in attendance will ever forget.

Deerfield’s Joey Ursetti led off the sixth with what seemed like a harmless walk. Pinch-hitter JP Holgerson then doubled, and Luis Matias reached on an error. Campbell singled, and Danner made the first out of the inning on a fielder’s choice. Eight straight Bucks batters then reached base before the second out of the inning was recorded.

By the end of the inning, eighteen Deerfield batters had come to the plate and thirteen runs were scored. The Bucks still had to get six more outs to pull one of the biggest upsets in recent Broward playoff history. Luckily for Deerfield, Bragg had two underclassmen up for finishing the job on the mound.

Freshman Johnny Grassi spent the entire season on the junior varsity team, but when call-ups occurred heading into districts, Grassi was one of the lucky players. Grassi took care of the Eagles in the sixth and got the first out in the seventh, before being pulled for Mike Whittingham. The sophomore worked out of a jam by striking out Silverio to end the inning and the game.

“I just came on the team two weeks ago, and I was not expecting to pitch,” said Grassi, one of the stars of Tuesday’s win. “I was thinking I was going to watch the game, but I got a chance to come in. I tried to be confident and do my job, and it worked out.”

Danner has been on the team for four years, and he never imagined they would be in this position after struggling for much of the season.

“It’s crazy,” said Danner. “We were the underdogs the whole season. We’re 4-14 coming into the playoffs, and everyone thinks we’re a joke. We shocked the county, and we’re not going to stop. Hopefully we’re going to win districts and carry that into the regionals.”

The shock the world mentality stems from coach Bragg, and he inspired his players in practice heading into these district playoffs.

“Before the playoffs started, the last practice, I talked about having hits and runs in the bank,” said a jubilant Bragg. “I told them I cashed the check from the savings account, and let’s use all the runs and hits we got. I told them let’s go shock the world, and that’s a statement we’ve been living by, and that’s what we did.”

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