Monticello suffers tough losses to open region play, looks to bounce back against Bulldogs

by Jackson Keyes
Contributing Writer
On March 25, the Monticello High School baseball team jumped on the bus and headed to Grand County to begin region play.
The nearly 80 degree temperature favored Grand as the Bucks looked to maneuver through temperatures 40 degrees warmer than the first three games of their season. 
Buckaroo sophomore Triston Felix was looking for another quality start on the mound, while Grand pitched ace senior Trace York.
The Red Devils ultimately pulled away for an 8-4 win to end Monticello’s three-game winning streak.
Felix pitched 4.1 innings, giving up five runs, only three earned, and striking out three. In relief, Jackson Keyes pitched 1.1 innings and gave up three earned runs.
The Buckaroos took a 1-0 lead when Arturo Gutierrez walked, advanced on a passed ball, and scored on a ground out by Cache Young.
Grand tied the game in the first and took the lead in the second on a base hit by senior Caden Swasey.
Monticello tied it in the third when Peyton Hatathley scored on a base hit by Cache Young, but fell behind again and were unable to make up the deficit.
Individually, Young had a productive day at the dish, tallying two hits and driving in three runs. Keyes had a pair of hits, including a double in the seventh inning off Grand senior pitcher Kalen Bowden.
Hatathley, despite limited plate appearances, showed ninja-like skills on the basepath and manufactured two trips across the plate to aid the Bucks. Kord Young and Triston Felix contributed offensively with two hits, both singles.
Looking to bounce back after a tough loss, the Bucks traveled to Blanding to face the rival San Juan Broncos in another region matchup on Friday, March 28.
Monticello started Felix again, his fifth time taking the ball, while Jaiten Knight got the nod for the Broncos, making his fourth start.
San Juan took an early 2-0 lead on hits by Cooper Palmer and Brady Bilbao before adding three in the third on a home run by Corbin Middleton.
The Broncos added five runs over the next two innings to complete a 10-0 shutout.
Notable performances for San Juan include senior Cooper Palmer with two runs on two hits and two RBIs. Corbin Middleton had a game to remember with two runs on two hits, including an opposite field home run, and four RBIs.
Other Broncos with hits include senior Jake Ivins, junior Remy Whatcott, senior Brady Bilbao, and senior Jaiten Knight.
Knight pitched a complete five innings, allowing three hits and no runs, with no walks and five strikeouts. He threw 75 pitches and an impressive 48 strikes.
Offensively for the Bucks, Keyes stood out with two hits, including a two-bagger off a middle-in fastball from Knight.
Felix hit one to the wall, but Bronco outfielders played deep and limited him to a single.
Unfortunately for Monticello, Felix and Keyes accounted for the only hits allowed by San Juan pitching.
Felix went 3.1 innings on the mound, giving up six hits and eight runs, five of which were earned. Felix added to his season strikeout total with five punchouts against the Broncos.
Jaeden Camacho relieved Felix in the fourth inning. In his first appearance of the year Camacho gave up three hits and two runs, one earned.
On the season, Triston Felix leads the Bucks with a .667 batting average, followed by Keyes at .617 and Cache Young at .467.
Felix and Keyes are tied with four doubles. Felix leads the team in home runs with three and Keyes has two.
Keyes is tops on the team in on-base percentage at .737 and on-base-plus-slugging at 2.122, and has drawn six walks.
Felix leads the Bucks in wins (three), and strikeouts (45). Young and Gutierrez each have four stolen bases.
Coming off back-to-back losses, Monticello looks to get back in the win column when they host Dove Creek in a doubleheader on Friday, April 4.
Game one is set to get underway at 2 p.m. with game two following immediately.