Going up against the 2023 state softball runner up was just another game for the Lady Dragons as they hosted the Marsh Valley Eagles for their second game of the season on Tuesday, April 2.  Taking to the road Friday, Saturday, and again on Monday, the MHS softball team bested West Jefferson, Snake River and Logan, demonstrating once again that their strong hitting, powerful pitching, and keen fielding will be a challenge that few, if any teams, will be able to meet.

It was an intense game as Malad faced off against Marsh Valley, a 3A contender for the 2023 championship game.  Although graduating their starting pitcher, the Eagles returned an impressive fielding team that made the Lady Dragons work for every run.

Both teams came out of the first inning scoreless, but things began to pick up once as they moved into the second.  The Eagles started the scoring in the top of the inning, scoring just one run before Malad forced three outs.

It was a slow start for the Lady Dragons in the bottom of the second inning, getting two outs early in the inning.  Gaining ground and bases, the Lady Dragons found themselves with runners on first and third with junior Riglee Peterson up to the plate.  After the second pitch, Aubrey Shulz, waiting on third base, took advantage of a wild pitch to make her way to home base to put up the first run for the Lady Dragons.  Hadley Summers advanced to second on the same pitch, setting her up to round third and score a second run  as Peterson hit a single fly ball to right field.

Once the Lady Dragons took the lead, they never looked back.  Over the next three innings, they allowed only one single hit and no runs.  At the mound, Peterson threw a series of intense pitches to strike out 10 of the 16 batters she faced, sending strikes 44 of her 54 pitches.  The Marsh Valley coach himself couldn’t help but be impressed as he said, “Man she is tough.  What a gangster!”

Coming into relief pitch in the final inning was freshman Liddia Gonzalez.  The Lady Dragons hardly missed a beat as the young hurler took her turn on the mound.  Gonzalez faced five hitters in that final inning, striking out two of them, without allowing any hits or committing any errors.

In the few instances that the Eagles didn’t strike out at the plate, the Malad defense was more than ready for them.  Hallie Horsley at first base had a series of outs as the Eagles put the hit towards first base and off the assist from Brylee Oglesbee and Peterson.

From behind the plate, the Lady Dragons were impressive, taking advantage of the inexperienced pitchers.  Horsley led the team with hitting as she had 3 runs on 2 hits on 3 at bats while batting in 5 of her teammates.  Even more impressive was the fact that the power hitter managed a homerun with each of hits.  Oglesbee managed 3 hits on 3 appearances, doubling on each, batting 2 runs in as well.

Early in the game, the Lady Dragon coaches said with a little excitement, “This is going to be a good game.”  But when it came down to it, slowing down the MHS softball team was never in the cards for the Eagles.  “They were a great fielding team but they just couldn’t stop our hitters.  When we come out and hit like that, there isn’t a lot anyone can do to stop us,” shared Head Coach Bri Adams.  

In their first of their scheduled road games, Malad put up an impressive 15 runs to West Jefferson’s single score despite the blustery weather conditions.  Kaitlyn Pickett singled in the opening inning to bat in Bostyn Combs for the first run of the game.  With some impressive hitting and smart base running, the Lady Dragons added four more runs in the second inning.  Shulz, Logan Maroney, and Teagan Daniels hit the weak spots of the outfield with their pop fly single in addition to double baggers by Anistyn Tovey and
Peterson.

 The team tallied three more runs in the fourth inning by Horsley, Summers, and Oglesbee.  Shulz scored another run in the fifth inning before the Lady Dragons closed out the game with six runs by Pickett, Adley Kimberling, Maroney, Horsley, Peterson, and Gonzalez in the top of the
6th inning.

Facing off in their second game of the season, Malad easily outplayed Snake River as they won 13-0.  They started out big in the first inning as they put up five runs, the first after Kimberling hit a line drive just out of reach of the second baseman to bat in Combs.  Pickett on third base and Kimberling on first, scored on the next play as Oglesbee doubled out to center field.  Oglesbee and Shulz rounded out the scoring for the first inning to make it a Malad
lead, 5-0.

It was catcher Maroney’s sharp eye that forced the first Panther out as she threw the ball to Shulz at second base to catch their runner attempting to steal.  Peterson easily collected two more outs as she struck out the next two batters.  Over the five innings, there were few hopeful opportunities for Snake River to score, but Malad was there in every instance to snag the out and keep them scoreless.  

After only a day off, the MHS team hit the field again Monday, April 8 as they took on the Logan Grizzlies.  In the bottom of the first inning, the Lady Dragons committed errors that allowed the Grizzlies a chance to put their first run on the scoreboard.  But they quickly tightened up their defense to make the stops they needed.  

In the third inning, it was their top notch fielding that forced three outs in three at bats.  Daniels in right field caught the fly ball for the first out, followed by Shulz at shortstop snagging the catch.  Second baseman Oglesbee grabbed the third out for the team to end the inning.

It wasn’t until the top of the fifth inning that the Lady Dragons took the lead, 3-1, as Daniels, on base after a double to left field, made her way around the bases with Combs coming in behind her on a wild pitch.  They widened the gap on the scoreboard in the sixth inning with five more runs, putting up an additional two in the seventh.  Logan attempted to battle back in the final inning but only managed two runs before Malad had collected
three outs.