High school baseball: Kanab punches ticket to 2A title game, Gunnison Valley moves one step closer with win in elimination bracket

Published: May 8, 2026, 10:28 p.m. MDT

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Kanab’s Grady Anderson rounds third base on his way for home as they and the San Juan Broncos play in 2A baseball state tournament semifinal action at the Miller Park Complex at BYU in Provo on Friday, May 8, 2026. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

By Tommy Bailey

Here’s a recap of Fridays 2A state tournament games at BYU.

Kanab 12 San Juan 3

No. 2 Kanab is back in the 2A state championship game for the second year in a row.

Kanab pulled away late and defeated No. 4 San Juan 12-3 in the semifinal Friday to reach the title game.

“Today it kind of took us a minute to get going and get our barrels going. After we kind of settled down, that’s when we got back to ourselves,” said Kanab head coach Craig Brinkerhoff.

“On the defensive side, we got things we need to clean up, but offensively, I feel like we’re getting back to where we need to be.”

Kanab was led at the plate by Gray Anderson, who had three RBIs and a triple.

Kanab was up 2-0 after three innings and then broke the game open with a 5-run fourththanks to a string of timely hitting and solid base running.

In the sixthinning, Kanab ended any drama by putting four more runs on the board to put the game out of reach.

“I think offensively, our guys just kind of reset after the first four innings. We’ve seen the guys just start making adjustments,” Brinkerhoff said.

“We just knew we needed to keep putting runs on the board. They’re a great hitting team, and we need to put more runs on the board to give our pitchers some support.”

Up until this point in their tournament run, the Cowboys hadn’t allowed a single run to their opponent. Even though they gave up three runs to San Juan, a couple of those were due to poor defensive execution.

“With our pitching, we tell our guys, ‘You just command the zone and then let our defense do the rest,’” Brinkerhoff said. “On defense, we do have to clean up some areas.

“You just play catch. That’s what it boils down to. We got a good defense out there in the field and we just can’t keep making errors. We gotta shut those down, but I think we will.”

Kanab made it to the championship series last year but ended up dropping both games to South Sevier by a combined score of 27-9. Returning the majority of players from that deep tournament run, Brinkerhoff feels that his team can use that disappointment as advantage heading to another championship series.

“All of our returners, we only graduated four, it’s been kind of a talking point,” he said. “That’s come across a lot, and they feel like they have some unfinished business.

“They’re kind of playing for last year. We let that one get away from us and we’re happy to be back in it, but we know that the job’s not done yet.”

Kanab and San Juan play in the 2A baseball state tournament semifinal games at Miller Park Complex at BYU in Provo on Friday, May 8, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

2A baseball state tournament semifinal games, American Leadership Academy and Gunnison Valley play at Miller Park Complex at BYU in Provo on Friday, May 8, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Kanab’s catcher Kanon Virostko makes the tag on San Juan’s Keilan Hutchins as he attempts to slide into home plate in 2A baseball state tournament semifinals action at Miller Park Complex at BYU in Provo on Friday, May 8, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Kanab’s Sayer Fenus makes the grab for the out on San Juan Broncos’Easton Knight as he slides at first base as they play in 2A baseball state tournament semifinal action at the Miller Park Complex at BYU in Provo on Friday, May 8, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Kanab’s Latimer Glover tags San Juan Broncos’ Jagger Nieves out at second base as they play in 2A baseball state tournament semifinal action at the Miller Park Complex at BYU in Provo on Friday, May 8, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Kanab’s Kyan Lyman, sends a pitch toward home as they and the San Juan Broncos play in 2A baseball state tournament semifinal action at the Miller Park Complex at BYU in Provo on Friday, May 8, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Gunnison Valley 4 American Leadership Academy 1

After a dramatic come from behind victory over South Sevier earlier in the afternoon, No. 3 Gunnison Valley found a way to grind out another victory, getting past No. 6 American Leadership Academy 4-1 in the elimination bracket.

With the win, Gunnison Valley is just one more win away from making it to the 2A state championship.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Gunnison Valley scored the first run of the game on a throwing error by American Leadership that allowed the baserunner to score all the way from second base.

“I saw resilience, fight, passion. That’s Gunnison Valley baseball. We struggled. It was a fight. I mean, our first run came with a bunt and a bad fielding error on their part. We got that run in and it started the momentum going in our direction,” said Gunnison Valley head coach Chad Avery.

Gunnison Valley managed just five hits during the game, but its ability to stay disciplined at the plate, on the base paths and take advantage of American Leadership miscues proved to be the keys to the win.

Gunnison Valley managed to score three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning with a couple of walks and a passed ball that allowed runners to cross home plate.

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Avery knows that the job is not done.

“Everybody wants to get to Saturday, but it’s still a baseball game. Bases are still 90 feet. The pitcher’s mound is still 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate,” he said.

“It’s still all about the little things. Making the little plays in the field. We still got to throw strikes, and we’ve got to get up there with confidence, our chin up and stroke the baseball.”

Gunnison Valley will face No. 4 San Juan for the chance to meet Kanab in the 2A championship.

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