Monticello baseball team sweeps season series with rival Dove Creek, gets set for state

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
It was another barnburner when the Monticello and Dove Creek baseball teams squared off for a showdown between local rivals on Friday, April 26 on the MHS baseball diamond.
The Bulldogs drew first blood with a two-run top of the first, but Monticello answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
Dove Creek plated five runs in the top of the third to stretch their lead to 7-1 but the Buckaroos exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the third to seize a 10-7 lead.
The teams traded two-run at bats in the fourth inning to make the score 12-9 in favor of Monticello before the Bulldogs stormed back into the lead with a five-run fifth inning.
Monticello scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game 14-14. Then the Buckaroo pitching and defense went to work, holding Dove Creek scoreless in both the top of the sixth and seventh innings.
In the bottom of the sixth inning Monticello scored the one run they needed to get their lead back and take the win 15-14 in the most exciting game of the season to this point.
Monticello collected 13 hits in the victory and overcame a six-error outing defensively. All 15 Buckaroo runs were earned.
Kooper Nielson, Arturo Gutierrez, and Triston Felix led the Monticello attack, driving in three runs apiece in the win. Gutierrez was 3-for-5 on the day with two doubles and Felix was 2-for-3.
Jackson Keyes drove in one run on his third home run of the season. Jaeden Camacho, Camren Carpenter, and Mason Atwood also got one RBI apiece in the win. Carpenter was 2-for-2 with two doubles.
Starting pitcher Jackson Keyes threw 4.1 innings, allowing 17 hits and 14 runs while striking out five batters and walking three.
Freshman Cache Young was excellent in 2.2 innings of relief, allowing no hits and no runs while striking out three of the eight batters he faced.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, April 23, the Buckaroos split a 2A East doubleheader with Gunnison Valley at home. They beat the Bulldogs 10-6 in game one, then fell 10-0 in game two.
In game one Monticello trailed Gunnison 3-0 before they chased starting pitcher Daxton Knudsen with a combined eight runs in the third and fourth innings to take a lead they would never relinquish.
Jaeden Camacho drove in four of the Buckaroos’ ten runs with two doubles in a 2-for-4 game at the plate. Cache Young was an excellent 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Triston Felix and Jackson Keyes drove in two runs apiece in the win and Kooper Nielson accounted for the remaining RBI.
Felix, who has been excellent this season, pitched all seven innings for the Bucks, striking out 12 Gunnison Valley batters. He allowed just two earned runs on four hits in the win.
Monticello was 4-10 entering the week beginning April 29 and they were 12th in the 2A RPI standings before the Utah High School Activities Association took them offline.
The Buckaroos closed out their regular season with a long road trip to Coalville, UT for one final 2A East doubleheader against North Summit on Tuesday, April 30. The games were played after the San Juan Record print deadline.
Monticello will begin the 2024 2A Utah State Baseball Tournament on the road this Saturday, May 4, possibly in Blanding or Moab.