San Juan softball team tops Grand to open season, picks up win at challenging Dixie Warmup Classic

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School softball team opened the 2025 season with six games in two weeks, including a trip to St. George this past weekend for five games at the Dixie Warmup Classic.
The Lady Broncos defeated the rival Grand County Lady Red Devils 14-8 in their first game of the season on March 4 in Moab.
San Juan scored in all but one inning, including a seven-run outburst in the top of the fifth on the way to the dominant victory.
Morgann McPherson and Elizabeth Palmer drove in four Lady Bronco runs apiece. Palmer was 2-for-4 on the day with a homer and a triple; McPherson was 3-for-4 with a triple.
Khatira Keith was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, Keegan Palmer had two hits and drove in one, and Miley Harrison had one hit and one RBI.
Khatira Keith pitched 4.1 innings, allowing ten hits and five earned runs while striking out four Lady Red Devils. Kheirra Keith pitched 2.2 innings of relief and gave up one hit while striking out one.
Following the opening game of the season the Lady Broncos had over a week to get ready for their big trip to St. George. They were initially scheduled to play Union at Dixie High School on Thursday, March 13 but that game was rained out.
So they opened the Warmup Classic against 3A South Summit in the morning hours of Friday, March 14. Both teams scored a run in the first inning, then San Juan reestablished their lead with another run in the top of the fourth.
But the Lady Wildcats plated three in their half of the fourth and held a 4-2 lead for the remainder of the game, dropping San Juan to 1-1 on the season.
Despite the tough loss, Averie Gilson had a great game at the plate, going 3-for-3 and driving in a run. Khatira Keith was 2-for-3 on the day and picked up the other RBI.
Madden Perkins and Elizabeth Palmer also contributed one hit apiece in the loss. Keith took the loss on the mound, allowing seven hits, four runs, and four walks while striking out eight of the 27 batters she faced.
The Lady Broncos were looking for a bounce-back when they came up against their second opponent of the day, Bear Lake, Idaho, who play in the 3A Southeast Idaho region.
Bear Lake opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first but San Juan answered with a run of their own in their half of the first, tying the game at 1-1.
The Lady Broncos added two more runs in the second inning, three in the third, and two in the fourth to storm to an 8-1 lead. The Lady Bears weren’t going to bow out easily, however.
They plated five runs in the top of the fifth before San Juan managed to secure the final out and secure an 8-6 win.
Keegan Palmer led the offensive attack this time for the Lady Broncos with a single and three RBIs. Madden Perkins hit a triple and drove in two runs in the win.
Averie Gilson collected the final RBI in the game and also scored a run herself. McPherson, Harrison, and Khatira Keith all got one hit apiece.
Keirra Keith got the win as she pitched four innings, allowing just two earned runs on four hits while striking out six batters. Khatira Keith retired three of the four batters she faced in one inning of relief.
The remainder of the weekend didn’t go as the Lady Broncos would have liked as they suffered three straight losses. Unfortunately only four innings were played in their final game Friday night against Hillcrest, Idaho.
San Juan got off to a good start, scoring five runs in the top half of the first inning, but the Lady Knights answered with three runs to cut the lead to two.
Then Hillcrest plated four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 7-5 lead. Neither team scored for the remainder of the tournament-shortened game.
Sadie Cosby, McPherson, Elizabeth Palmer, and Gilson all drove in one run apiece in the loss. Palmer was 1-for-1 with a double; McPherson was 1-for-3 with a triple.
Kheirra Keith struck out six Hillcrest batters while allowing eight hits and five earned runs in 3.2 innings of work.
In their first game on Saturday, March 15 the Lady Broncos were slow out of the gate, suffering a tough 20-0 loss to Highland, Idaho. Kheirra Keith got San Juan’s only hit in the game.
In their final game of the weekend San Juan faced Lone Peak, who ironically hail from Highland, Utah and play in the 6A classification.
The girls battled hard, but the Lady Knights scored one run in the second inning and three in the fourth to build a 4-0 lead. The Lady Broncos got one baserunner across the plate in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a 4-1 loss.
Miley Harrison was 1-for-3 on the day and drove in San Juan’s only run. Morgann McPherson was 2-for-3 with a couple singles. And Madden Perkins got one hit and scored the team’s run.
Despite taking the loss, Kheirra Keith had a great game on the mound. She allowed just three earned runs in five complete innings of work and struck out four Lone Peak batters.
It might not show in the W/L column, but San Juan can hold their heads high after a strong effort on a challenging road trip to St. George.
They faced several challenging opponents that play in classifications ranging from 3A to 6A in their respective states.
Following the first two weeks of the season the Lady Broncos are 2-4 and they’re gearing up for another road trip and another tournament this weekend.
They’ll be in Farmington, NM for the Linda Crabtree Challenge Thursday through Saturday, March 20-22. San Juan is set to take on East Mountain on Thursday, Kirtland Central and Miyamura Friday, and Pojoaque Valley and Aztec on Saturday.