San Juan baseball season concludes with loss to eventual state champs

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School baseball team won 16 of their last 17 regular season games and was poised to make a deep run in the 2025 2A Utah State Baseball Tournament this past weekend at BYU.
But a loss to the rival Grand County Red Devils in their opening game of the tournament in Blanding May 3 set them on a much tougher path to a desired state championship – one that would require seven straight wins to achieve.
In recent comments to the San Juan Record Bronco Head Coach Jens Nielson talked about the team’s mentality and approach as they prepared to continue in the tournament this past week.
“We had to regroup after the loss,” said Nielson. “The feeling was a gut punch as if we had been knocked out of the tournament. To get back on track, we held a meeting with the seniors . . . where we talked about making sure we had the right mindset and understanding that our season was not over.
Coach Nielson stated the obvious – that it would be a long, hard road to a state championship in one-loss play. It began against one of the best pitchers in the state, Kyson Giles, when San Juan faced Duchesne in their very next game.
The contest was scheduled to be played in Blanding, but due to poor field conditions it was moved to Moab.
San Juan struck first, scoring the opening run on a Jaiten Knight double in the bottom of the second. But Duchesne answered in the top of the third to take a 3-1 lead. Two of the runs came in when Giles helped out his own cause with a double.
But after Nache Young reached first on a dropped third strike to start out the third inning and Giles hit Talon Mendoza three pitches later, Giles’s day was done.
The Broncos took advantage of the poor outing from the Eagle starter. Remy Whatcott scored on a wild pitch and an error on the new pitcher, Wyatt Christensen. Then Branten Bethea drove Knight in from third with a double to right field.
Young drove Bethea in with a single two pitches later and San Juan was up 6-3 and off to the races. The bats came alive as the Broncos poured on six runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a commanding 12-3 lead.
Though Duchesne mustered one run in the sixth and another in the seventh the damage was done, and San Juan stayed alive in the state tournament with a 12-5 victory over the Eagles.
“We knew the challenges and had to make a decision to compete or not,” stated Coach Nielson after the win. “The boys came out with grit and made sure they got to BYU to give themselves a chance at moving forward. We beat a tough pitcher in Giles and showed what we were capable of.”
With the win San Juan did indeed advance to the remainder of the state tournament, to be played at BYU. Though they didn’t know it at the time, their next opponent was the eventual state champion South Sevier Rams.
By the fourth inning on Thursday, May 8 San Juan hadn’t found any offensive success against pitcher Stockton Roberts and South Sevier had built a 5-0 lead.
But the Broncos weren’t finished yet. Coach Nielson explains: “Baylor Nielson came in [to pitch] and did a great job of holding [South Sevier] off long enough to allow us to fight back and tie it up with big at-bats from Talon Mendoza, Cooper Palmer, Brody Bilbao, Jaiten Knight, Branten Bethea, and Nache Young. Jake Ivins’s stellar defense at third base helped keep us in the game as well.”
Indeed, San Juan rallied to score five runs and tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. When neither team plated a run in the seventh, the game went into extra innings.
But in the top of the eighth, in one of the most talked-about finishes at the state tournament, South Sevier’s Peyton Ingram hit a perfectly-placed line drive into the gap and to the fence in right field, resulting in an in-the-park grand slam and giving the Rams a 9-5 lead.
When the Broncos were unable to score a run in the bottom of the eighth, the game – and San Juan’s season – came to a close with a 9-5 loss.
“It didn’t fall our way,” said Nielson after the tough loss, “but that is not indicative of the season these boys had. They were 21-6 on the season; were co-Region Champions; and had 303 hits, 66 doubles, 13 triples, and 27 home runs.
“The boys fought hard and gave the State Champs their hardest battle of the tournament by taking them into extra innings.
“This group was special and the seven seniors will be dearly missed,” continued Nielson. “They had the potential to win it all but fell short with just a few at-bats or a few plays of winning both of those playoff games they lost.
“I am proud of the seniors. Jaiten Knight made so many good adjustments and was a reliable workhorse on the mound.
“Brody Bilbao was tremendous on defense and did some awesome things at the plate. Talon Mendoza worked his butt off for four-plus years and had a very good season at the plate and on the mound.
“Corbin Middleton had a mentality shift from his junior to senior season and understood that his success was up to him. He had an incredible season on the mound and at the plate.
“Branten Bethea’s numbers speak for themselves. He was a menace at the plate, very reliable, and just flat out crushed the ball.
“Jake Ivins was the grittiest kid I have ever coached. His plays at third base were next-level, and he did everything he could to win ball games. He left it all on the field every game.
“And Cooper Palmer has one of the highest baseball IQs I have ever coached. He is very humble and coachable. He had an excellent season defensively and at the plate.”
Branten Bethea led the team in 2025 with a very impressive .495 batting average. He was 46-for-93 and hit four home runs, four triples, and eight doubles while driving in 22 runs and scoring a team-high 37 runs.
Cooper Palmer was 40-for-90 on the year for a .444 average. He hit four homers, one triple, and a team-high 12 doubles with 30 RBIs and 29 runs scored.
Talon Mendoza batted .435, going 37-for-85 at the plate, and led the team with seven homers. He hit two triples and six doubles while driving in 30 runs and scoring 34.
Corbin Middleton was .427 at the plate with five homers, two triples, and nine doubles. He was 38-for-89 with a team-high 38 RBIs and 21 runs scored.
Nache Young batted .412 with 33 hits in 80 at-bats. He collected two triples and five doubles while driving in 24 runs and scoring 31.
Jake Ivins was 30-for-87 for a .345 batting average. He hit one home run, one triple, and seven doubles with 17 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
Jaiten Knight hit .333 for the Broncos this season. He was 24-for-72 with two homers, six doubles, 17 RBIs, and 21 runs scored.
And Brody Bilbao went 23-for-75 for a .307 average. He hit four home runs, one triple, and three doubles with 19 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
Others who contributed to the San Juan offensive effort this season included Baylor Nielson (.381, 8/21, 4-2B, 10-RBI, 9-R), Remy Whatcott (.316, 6/19, 2-2B, 7-RBI, 5-R), Cash Palmer (.294, 10/34, 2-2B, 6-RBI, 8-R), and Brandt Bingham (.294, 5/17, 2-2B, 2-RBI, 2-R).
Bethea led the team with a .577 on-base percentage and was second with a .796 slugging percentage. Mendoza had a team-high slugging percentage of .800 and the second-highest OBP at .543.
Bethea was the most lethal baserunner for the Broncos as well, with 31 stolen bases on the season. Bilbao swiped 13 while Ivins and Knight had nine steals apiece.
Among the pitchers who saw legitimate time on the mound, Jake Ivins sported the lowest earned-run average at 0.59. He was 3-0 on the season, allowing a minuscule two earned runs on 12 hits while striking out 26 of the 99 batters he faced in 23.2 innings of work.
Jaiten Knight sported a 2.58 ERA with six wins and three losses, allowing 14 earned runs on 36 hits with 34 strikeouts and 166 batters faced in 38 innings.
Talon Mendoza had a 3.27 ERA and a 3-0 record with 14 earned runs on 36 hits. He struck out 46 of the 144 batters he faced in 30 innings.
Corbin Middleton’s ERA was 4.35 and he had the best win/loss record on the team at 6-0. He allowed 23 earned runs on 33 hits, struck out 39 of 170 batters, and pitched 37 innings for the Broncos.
And Baylor Nielson ended the season with a 6.30 ERA and was 3-3. He allowed 24 earned runs on 29 hits while striking out 35 of the 133 batters he faced in 26.2 innings of work.
Coach Nielson concluded his comments by saying, “I am proud of all the [players] who contributed to the season. We have work to do but I am excited to see what the seniors do in life and what next year’s team does on the field.
“I also need to throw a shoutout to coaches Billy Mendoza and Derek Bethea (the baseball whisperers), who will be missed. They brought maturity, knowledge, level-headedness, and just an overall love for the game and for the boys. Love you guys!”