Broncos third in 2A standings after 13th win of season

by David Boyle
News Director
The San Juan High School baseball team is ranked third in the 2A ranks with about two weeks remaining in the 2025 regular season.
The Broncos earned a 5-2 win in Moab over the Grand Red Devils on April 1. The San Juan offense was led by Branten Bethea who had three hits on the day. He hit two doubles while batting in two runs and scoring one himself.
Jaiten Knight also had two hits including a double, and crossed home plate three times for the Broncos. Nache Young and Talon Mendoza each had an RBI in the game as well.
Mendoza earned the win on the mound for San Juan, pitching all seven innings and giving up just one earned run along with ten strikeouts.
San Juan next traveled to Kirtland, New Mexico earning two wins in a doubleheader on April 4. In the first game San Juan earned a 16-3 victory in seven innings.
Mendoza led the team with five hits including a home run and a double. He drove in three runs and crossed home plate himself three times. Corbin Middleton also batted in three runs on two doubles scoring once.
Cooper Palmer hit two doubles, batted in one run and crossed home plate three times for San Juan. Middleton also earned the win on the mound, pitching four innings with four strikeouts and giving up two earned runs. Brody Bilbao, Keilan Hutchins and Bethea also pitched in the win.
In game two San Juan earned a 14-1 victory in five innings. Bilbao led the Bronco offense in that game with five RBIs on three hits including two home runs. Young batted in two runs and Mendoza also hit a home run for San Juan.
Baylor Nielson earned the win on the mound pitching four innings with six strikeouts and one earned run. Jake Ivins also pitched an inning for the Broncos.
San Juan kept the offense rolling into their next game, once again beating Grand County by a score of 8-1 on April 8 in Blanding.
In that game Middleton and Bethea each hit a home run for the Broncos. Bethea also hit a triple, batting in two runs in the game.
Middleton collected two RBIs and hit a double along with his homer in the game. Mendoza hit two doubles to drive in three runs for San Juan.
Knight earned the win on the mound for the Broncos pitching six innings and giving up one run while earning two strikeouts, Mendoza pitched an inning in the contest as well.
San Juan’s win streak came to an end on April 11 against Gunnison Valley when the Broncos split a 2A East doubleheader in Blanding against the Bulldogs.
In game one San Juan lost in a defensive battle 2-1 to Gunnison. Bethea crossed home plate thanks to an RBI from Young. But the Bronco bats were stagnant with Young getting two hits, Ivins one and Brandt Bingham hitting a double.
San Juan’s defense battled with Knight pitching one inning and Mendoza working six. Mendoza struck out 11 Gunnison batters in the loss, giving up one earned run. The Broncos committed three defensive errors in the low-scoring loss to Gunnison.
The Broncos bounced back in game two however. Despite falling behind 7-0 through four innings their bats came alive in the fifth and sixth innings to earn a 12-9 victory.
Middleton hit a grand slam to propel San Juan to a 12-7 lead. Mendoza, Bilbao, and Palmer also hit home runs in the comeback win.
Young also hit well, collecting two hits including a double and two RBIs. Middleton earned the win on the mound, pitching five innings while Knight and Nielson assisted.
The Broncos sport a solid 13-4 overall record. They played Montezuma-Cortez on Tuesday, April 15 after the San Juan Record print deadline. They’ll visit North Summit on Friday, April 18 before hosting Duchesne on Monday, April 21.