Monticello Tops Dove Creek 10-7 in Extra-Inning Baseball Thriller

Triston Felix delivered a home run and five RBIs as Monticello rallied past Dove Creek 10-7 in extra innings Thursday at Dove Creek, handing the Bulldogs a hard-fought non-region loss on their home field.

The Blanding-based Mustangs sealed the win with a three-run surge in the second extra inning, turning what had been a tightly contested game into a decisive final margin. Jackson Keyes earned the pitching victory, striking out seven batters across the contest to anchor a Monticello effort that required every inning to close out.

Dove Creek kept the game alive deep into regulation, including a two-run push in the fifth inning that reflected the Bulldogs' capacity for late rallies. But the home team's bullpen was ultimately unable to hold off Monticello's extra-inning offense, and Dove Creek found itself on the wrong side of a 10-7 final.

For a small rural program that regularly schedules non-region opponents to round out its spring slate, the April 3 result gives Dove Creek coaches tangible data at an early point in the season, particularly around bullpen endurance and situational hitting with runners in scoring position. Those are fixable problems, and the calendar offers opportunities to address them before league play intensifies.

Monticello, meanwhile, leaves Dolores County with a confidence-building road win. Felix's five-RBI afternoon was the difference: without that production, the extra innings likely tell a different story. Keyes' seven strikeouts added a pitching dimension that will give the Mustangs' coaching staff real encouragement heading into the weeks ahead.

High school baseball in a county the size of Dolores runs on exactly these kinds of April Thursdays, where student athletes earn visibility and communities check in on programs they've followed for years.