Survivor: Hollywood Winner Is Deerfield Beach Bucks

People at home on a Wednesday night might be watching the latest episode of “Survivor.”

Spectators at the McArthur High School baseball field were watching a different kind of “Survivor.”

This reality show featured the cast of the South Plantation Paladins against the the cast of the Deerfield Beach Bucks.

The survivor? Deerfield Beach 10-8.

The teams combined for 11 errors in another wild game of the HSBN/Perfect Recruits Fall Classic.

“I think that was the sloppiest game I’ve ever been a part of,” Bucks coach Scott Bragg said. “It was a game of survival.”

“It’s not very pretty right now,” South Plantation coach Dominic Campeau said. “Our defense has got to show up.”

It wasn’t there Monday night either. So maybe Wednesday night’s showing can be considered a rerun.

The Bucks overcame a 7-5 deficit in the sixth to win the game. And survive. Deerfield’s first two batters reached by errors and the next two got on with walks. Deerfield’s first run of the inning came in when the Bucks successfully executed a trick play in which the runner at first (Andre Campbell) stalled between first and second while the runner at third (Luis Matias) raced home. Campbell made it second before getting tagged out and then came home on an error that also allowed Aaron Johnson to score.

Deerfield finally got an earned run in the inning when Joey Ursetti, who was 3-for-4, drove in Austin Soeder and Ramon Zorilla with a base hit.

The Bucks, who went up 1-0 in the top of the first after an error allowed Johnson to score, took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third as Campbell and Johnson scored on fielder’s choices and Mike Whittingham came home for another run.

South Plantation got the offense rolling in the bottom of the third with three consecutive hits. Josh Matos singled and was plated on Will Laystrom’s double. Sal Rodriguez brought in Laystrom with a base hit.

The Paladins took the lead in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of a triple by Zach Zirbes and some wildness from Bucks pitcher Matias, who overall pitched a solid game and had a strong start with four strikeouts by the third inning.

Zirbes doubled in two more runs in the fifth as the Paladins went up by two.

Rodriguez singled in Matos in the sixth, but South Plantation couldn’t made up the difference.

Bragg said Matias’ pitching was a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster night for the Bucks.

“He didn’t pitch bad, he threw strikes,” Bragg said. “He’s worked hard over the summer to improve. We got sloppy and threw it around.”

Matias said he had a feeling it could be a messy game.

“We haven’t played in a while,” he said. “So I expected that and was ready, but in the end, they came through with some nice plays to end the game.”

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