Red Devil senior pitcher Kyler Nelson pitched a perfect game, striking out 12 Monticello batters in an 11-0 five-inning mercy-rule victory over the Buckaroos on Tuesday, March 24 in Moab en route to his fourth pitching victory of the season.
Nelson threw to first for the assist on two of the three balls that the Buckaroos put in play, making himself part of 14 out of 15 outs in the game.
“It’s always exciting,” Grand assistant coach Ron Dolphin said of Nelson’s pitching performance, which was the first no-hitter Grand has had since Tyler McDougall pitched a no-hitter versus Nucla, Colorado, on April 13, 2012. Devin Dalton pitched a perfect game for the Red Devils versus Altamont on April 10, 2002.
“He took the mound and was just a bull,” Dolphin said. “He threw it right down the middle and dared them to do something with it.”
The Red Devils scored 11 runs against the Buckaroos, aided by a home run from senior Ronnie Dolphin and a pair of doubles from senior Tanner White.
Nelson took the mound again on Friday, March 27 against North Sevier in the first game of a varsity double header, taking his second loss of the season after the Wolves scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning of a tie game to win 7-6.
“(Against the Wolves), he didn’t have the same mentality,” Ron Dolphin said. “He was a little too fine with his pitches; didn’t want to challenge their batters.”
The Wolves scored three of their runs on a two-out, bases-loaded error in the fourth inning on a fly ball misplayed by freshman Josh Jones, who was playing center field.
Freshman Brayden Schultz hit a pair of doubles, while Jones, Ronnie Dolphin and junior Brayden Ward added doubles.
Jones made up for his fielding mishap in the second game of the double header, pitching a solid game as the Red Devils defeated the Wolves 7-2.
“We’ve been starting four, sometimes five freshmen,” Ron Dolphin said. “When you play freshmen, you’re going to have those things happen from time to time. I think it showed a lot of maturity for him to come in and pitch like that after that error in the first game.”
Ronnie Dolphin officially recorded a double, although Ron Dolphin said it should have been scored a triple, giving him three straight games with an extra-base hit. Nelson also hit a home run in the win, Ron Dolphin said.
The Red Devils sat in fourth place at 2-3 in the Region 15 standings as of Monday, March 30, behind Emery (6-0), North Sevier (4-2) and South Sevier (2-2).
“We’re fighting for that second place spot with North Sevier,” Ron Dolphin said. “South Sevier is a bit of a sleeper pick. They went down to Emery and gave them a run for their money (losing 3-2 in Castle Dale on Friday, March 27), but we get them in a double header at home. If we take both of those games and take care of business against San Juan, we’ll get there. We feel good about where we’re at.”
The Red Devil varsity team also defeated the Bayfield, Colorado, junior varsity team 12-2 on Monday, March 30. They were then scheduled to play at Farmington, New Mexico, on Tuesday, March 31, and play Piedra Vista, New Mexico, in Farmington on Wednesday, April 1. They’re next scheduled to play Wasatch Academy in a double header in Moab on Friday, April 10 with games at 2 and 4 p.m.
Grand defeats Buckaroos 11-0 in five innings
What: Red Devil baseball double header versus Wasatch Academy
When: Friday, April 10, 2 and 4 p.m.
Where: Grand County High School baseball field, 608 S. 400 East
(Nelson) took the mound and was just a bull. He threw it right down the middle and dared them to do something with it.
