San Juan, Monticello square off to open state baseball tourney, both drop to one-loss bracket

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The 2024 2A Utah State Baseball Tournament got underway this past Saturday, May 4 with #5 San Juan and #12 Monticello both relegated to long road trips to Beaver.
By virtue of earning the #3 seed in the tournament the Beavers earned the privilege of hosting a four-team bracket in the first two games of the postseason.
Ironically the Broncos and Buckaroos traveled all that distance to face each other in a first-round rivalry showdown for the second year in a row. San Juan won the 2023 matchup 12-0.
The final result was the same in the 2024 edition. Monticello opened the scoring with one run in the top of the first but San Juan took the lead with two in the bottom of the inning.
Then the Broncos exploded for 14 runs in the bottom of the second, establishing a sizable lead that the Buckaroos were never able to challenge.
Monticello did score a run in the top of the third, but San Juan added to their lead with two runs in the third and four more in the fourth on the way to a 22-2 five-inning domination.
Two Broncos were a perfect 3-for-3 in the game, Jake Ivins and Jagger Nieves. Nieves hit a double and drove in two San Juan runs while Ivins drove in one.
Cooper Palmer led the Broncos with four RBIs in the win. He was 2-for-4 with a single and a double. Corbin Middleton was 1-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.
Branten Bethea was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs. Derrick White also drove in two San Juan runs and was 1-for-2 at the plate with a double.
Brody Bilbao, Nache Young, Baylor Nielson, Jonas Jeppeson, and Cash Palmer all got one RBI apiece in the win. Bilbao was 2-for-3 while Young, Nielson, Jeppeson, and Palmer were all a perfect 1-for-1.
San Juan collected 16 hits in the win and struck out just three times. They stole five bases with Ivins, Bethea, Parker Snyder, Bilbao, and White all swiping one each.
Corbin Middleton got the win on the mound for the Broncos, allowing just two hits and two runs with three strikeouts in three innings of work. Jake Ivins pitched two innings in relief, striking out four Buckaroo batters and allowing just one hit.
For Monticello Triston Felix was 2-for-3 in the game. Kooper Nielson got one hit in two at bats and Cache Young was 1-for-3. Felix collected the only stolen base for the Bucks.
The loss dropped Monticello into the one-loss bracket where they put together a nice bounce-back win over #13 Millard.
After playing two scoreless innings the Buckaroos plated two runs in the top of the third. It was a lead they would never relinquish, as they added a run in the top of the fourth and two more in the fifth to make the score 5-0.
The Eagles finally got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but Monticello answered with one of their own in the top of the sixth to get their five-run lead back.
Millard made it interesting in the bottom of the seventh when they scored two runs, but the Buckaroos cut the rally short to close out a 6-3 win.
Triston Felix once again led the way for Monticello offensively, driving in three of the six runs despite only going 1-for-4 at the plate.
Jackson Keyes got the other RBI for MHS and was 2-for-4 in the win. Cache Young was also 2-for-4 and scored two runs for the Bucks.
Mason Atwood also scored a couple runs and was 2-for-3 with a double. Jaeden Camacho was 2-for-3 while Kooper Nielson scored a run in a 1-for-2 effort.
Winning pitcher Triston Felix was impressive on the mound as always for Monticello. He struck out eight of the 12 Millard batters he faced, walked just one, and left the game working a no-hitter after 3.2 innings.
Jackson Keyes allowed two hits and three runs while striking out one and walking four in 3.1 innings of relief.
Meanwhile, San Juan faced an unkind host in the second round of the championship bracket in #3 Beaver. The Beavers got to Bronco pitching early to build a 7-0 lead over the course of the first three innings.
San Juan got on the board with a run in the top of the fourth, then made the score 7-4 with three more runs in the top of the sixth.
But Beaver plated two in the bottom of the sixth and held the Broncos off the board in their final at bat to close out the game 9-4.
San Juan collected seven hits in the loss, one each from Jagger Nieves, Jake Ivins, Corbin Middleton, Derrick White, Brody Bilbao, Parker Snyder, and Cooper Palmer.
Nieves, Ivins, and Middleton each drove in one Bronco run. Nieves, Ivins, and Parker Snyder all stole one base apiece.
It was a tough outing on the mound for Talon Mendoza. He was chased after 2.1 innings when the Beavers mustered seven runs on him, five of which were earned.
He did strike out three batters, but gave up seven hits and two walks. In relief, Jaiten Knight pitched 3.2 innings, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out three and walking one.
With one win and one loss for both Monticello and San Juan in the first two rounds of the state tournament, both of the rivals are still alive in the hunt for the 2024 2A title.
But both teams also need a daunting seven straight wins to make that happen, and it’s a decidedly tougher road for the Buckaroos.
Monticello resumed their quest in the one-loss second round on the road against #6 South Sevier on Tuesday, May 7 in a game played too late for the San Juan Record print deadline.
The Broncos earned one final home game by virtue of their fifth-place ranking. They hosted #11 Parowan in the one-loss second round on May 7, also too late for the print deadline.
Wins would advance the teams to the remainder of the tournament at Utah Valley University, with play resuming in the one-loss third round on Thursday, May 9.
Monticello would likely face the #2-seeded Enterprise Wolves while San Juan would take on either #8 Milford or #10 North Sevier with tougher matchups looming as the tourney continues.
Listen for updates on the Buckaroos’ and Broncos’ progress on Redrock 92 Radio and look for complete coverage of the remainder of the tournament in the May 15 edition of the San Juan Record.