San Juan teams keep battling as the season nears its midpoint

The San Juan High School baseball team was 1-4 headed into the past week and looking to gain some ground in Region 12 when they welcomed the Richfield Wildcats to Blanding for a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 23.

It’s hard to believe, but we’re already approaching the midpoint of the spring sports season, so all games are key to establishing a good ranking in the Utah High School Activities Association RPI, which has yet to be released for baseball.

In the opening game this past Tuesday, the Broncos were the underdogs, but held the Wildcats at bay for the first couple innings. Finally, Richfield broke through for a couple runs in the third inning, and the score remained 2-0 until the fifth.

In the top half of the fifth, San Juan cut the Richfield lead in half when Collin Baker crossed the plate to make it 2-1. But the Bronco rally was cut short when the Wildcats answered with nine runs in their half of the inning to close out an 11-1 win.

San Juan was only able to muster two hits in the loss to Richfield’s seven. But one of those hits was a triple by Kaylan Perkins. In the field, the Broncos committed four errors while their opponents collected two miscues.

Game two of the doubleheader began, but was called in the first inning due to poor weather. San Juan is attempting to reschedule the game, but at this point a makeup date is to be determined.

With the loss San Juan dropped to 1-5 on the year, with their only win coming in their opening game against rival Monticello on March 9 in Blanding.

So, the Broncos paid a visit to their rivals to close out their season series on Thursday, March 25. Just like in the teams’ first meeting, San Juan jumped on top early.

But this time they had to outlast a Monticello rally that made the score 9-6 in the bottom of the fifth. San Juan put up six runs in the top of the sixth and three more in the seventh to pull away for an 18-7 win.

Maddax Lee was an impressive 4-for-5 in the game with three RBIs and four runs scored. Jerzy Nieves was a perfect 3-for-3 one RBI and one run. Jace Palmer was three of four with four runs scored.

Players with two RBIs each included Jeter Perkins, Weston Laws, Taylor Black, and Kaylan Perkins. Ian Johnson, Jace Johnson, and Collin Baker drove in one run apiece in the win.

The Broncos banged out 21 hits in the game, four triples, four doubles, stole ten bases, and overcame five fielding errors.

This week, they have two big matchups with Region-12-leading Emery. By the time you read this, one of those games will be in the books, on Tuesday, March 30 in Blanding. The Broncos will travel to Castle Dale to take on the Spartans Friday, April 2.

Softball
The San Juan softball team entered the past week with a 2-5 record and knew they would have their hands full with a couple tough Region 12 opponents, at home against Emery Tuesday, March 23, and on the road at Grand on Friday, March 26.

The first game, against the Lady Spartans, was a tight battle for the first two innings. Emery opened with a four-run first inning, but San Juan answered with a run of their own.

Both teams scored three runs in the second inning, and when the Lady Spartans came to bat in the top of the third, the score was 7-4. But Emery exploded for nine runs in the inning to blow the game open 16-4.

The Lady Broncos mustered one more run to answer in the bottom of the third, but that was as close as they could get. Emery added one final run in the top of the fourth inning and held San Juan scoreless to close out a 17-5 win.

Sadie Brown led the way for the Lady Broncos. She was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, including the game’s only home run. Adriann Johnson and Emilie Palmer drove in San Juan’s other two runs.

The girls headed to Moab on Friday looking to get back in the win column against their rivals and Region-12-leading Grand County.

From the start the Lady Red Devils flexed their muscle, scoring four runs in the first inning, five in the second, and one in the third. Holding San Juan scoreless, the region leaders handed the Lady Broncos a 10-0 loss.

With the losses, San Juan drops to 2-7 on the year and 1-4 in Region 12. Entering this week, they were set for a fairly light schedule, visiting South Sevier for a region doubleheader on Tuesday, March 30.

Entering the games, the Lady Spartans were 1-7 overall and 0-4, ranked last in the region. We’ll have results on those games in next week’s issue.

Track & field
The San Juan track and field team didn’t participate in any events this past week, but Shae Nielson represented the Broncos at the Pine View Invitational in St. George on Friday, March 26.

She ran the 300-meter hurdles in 47.34 to finish third, grabbed a fifth-place result in the 100-meter dash with a time of 16.50, and finished eighth in the 200 with a 27.74. The San Juan senior beat five teams all by herself to finish 27th out of 32 teams at the event.

Girls golf
The San Juan girls golf team braved cold, windy conditions at the Mountain View Golf Course in West Jordan on Thursday, March 25 and came away with a strong performance.

Isabel Young led the way with an excellent round of 85, which moved her up to third in Region 12. Kalea Chamberlain shot a 120 and Brinli Bowring finished with a 126 on the day.

This week, the girls battled more bad weather at the Cove View Golf Course in Richfield on Monday, March 29 where the Emery Lady Spartans had hosting honors. Though the temperature was warmer this time around, the wind was much more fierce and scores suffered.

Young shot a 103 on the day, Bowring got a 120, and Chamberlain carded a 124. Head coach John Young reports that the team lost their number four golfer, so unfortunately will not be able to qualify for team honors.

But the three remaining seniors continue to work hard to accomplish their goals. They’re next in action (and looking for better weather) at the Millsite Golf Course in Ferron on Monday, April 5.