Monticello baseball team suffers loss in opening game of the 2A state tournament but rebounds to beat North Summit, stay alive in title hunt
by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monticello High School baseball team kept themselves alive in the 2026 2A Utah State Baseball Tournament with a convincing 11-0 win over North Summit on Saturday, May 2 in POD play in Beaver.
The #8-seeded Buckaroos suffered a 7-3 loss to #9 North Sevier in their first game of the day, but bounced back for the win over the #16 Braves.
Monticello scored nine runs in the top of the first inning to get started on the right foot. They added two runs in the top of the third and held North Summit off the board to close out the mercy-rule win.
Speaking of holding North Summit off the board, Buckaroo junior Triston Felix pitched a two-hit shutout to earn the win, striking out 12 of the batters he faced.
Felix ran his strikeout total to 163 on the season which sets a new Utah State record for most strikeouts in a season. The previous record was 156 which Mark Pawelek of Springville High set in 2003 and matched in 2004.
Felix was also volatile offensively in Monticello’s game two win. He was 2-for-3 with two runs batted in. Jaeden Camacho and Jackson Keyes were also 2-for-3 in the game. Keys drove in four runs and Camacho one.
Tristan Burtenshaw, Cache Young, Kord Young, and Grant Wigginton all got one hit apiece. Young, Wigginton, and Jaxson Breedlove all tallied an RBI each.
In the loss to North Sevier Monticello fell behind early, but tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth. Unfortunately the Wolves plated one in the sixth and three in the seventh while the Buckaroos were unable to score.
Arturo Gutierrez, Young, Felix, Keyes, and Camacho registered one hit apiece. Young, Felix, and Keyes drove in one Monticello run each.
Keyes pitched a solid five innings, allowing three runs (only one earned) on six hits and striking out five. Cache Young and Kord Young allowed the remaining four runs in two combined innings of relief.
The Buckaroos are still alive in the hunt for the 2A Utah State title, but they’ve got their work cut out for them.
They traveled to take on #7 Parowan in a must-win game Tuesday, May 5 after the San Juan Record print deadline.
Monticello needs eight straight wins to earn the state championship. Visit uhsaa.org for links to follow their progress and watch their games.