Seven games in seven days, capped off with seven wins.  Despite the demanding schedule, the Lady Dragon softball team isn’t pulling any stops as they move through their 2023 schedule.  Picking up where they left off last year, they are determined to play nothing but their best, which most often, means besting all of their opponents. 

 The Lady Dragons began their week shutting out conference teams West Side and Bear Lake as they played them at home, making a statement that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the conference.  Over the weekend, the team traveled to compete in the Glenns Ferry tournament where they once again went undefeated.  Throughout the tournament, the MHS softball team faced teams against New Plymouth, Nampa Christian, Wendell and Grangeville.  Monday, April 17, the Lady Dragons hit the road to play Blackfoot JV, coming out on top once more.

While the team makes winning seem easy and effortless when they take the field, they know that their success has come from their dedication and hard work.  And it is that hard work that helps them take the win against even the toughest teams their schedule has to offer.

Going into the Glenns Ferry tournament, the team knew not only that they would be facing Nampa Christian, but that they were coming in ranked as the number two team in the 2A standings, just one spot behind Malad.  The game they would be playing could very well be an early accounting of the State Championship game.  Head Coach Christie Schow shared what a sweet victory it was to come out ahead after playing a great team with a great record to the start of their season.

As they try to do in every game, Malad came out scoring in the first and second innings to take an early lead.  Riglee Peterson was first to score for the Lady Dragons after Graycee Goddard sacrificed an out as she hit a grounder to the Trojans pitcher, giving Peterson the opportunity to make it across home plate.  Hallie Horsley put another run on the scoreboard ealy in the second inning, capitalizing on her opponents errors after a bunt hit by Kaitlyn Pickett.  Hadley Summers came in as courtesy runner for Pickett, the Lady Dragons catcher.  On the next at bat, Summers made her way from second to home for a third Malad run.  Summers scored the final run for the Lady Dragons in the sixth innings.  In to run the bases for Pickett, Summers took second base on a wild pitch by Nampa Christian before running the bases to home after Brylee Oglesbee hit a fly ball to center field.

The MHS softball team kept their opponents scoreless except for two runs in the fourth inning.  Malad’s defense was on top of their game, committing only a single error for the game.  Peterson pitched the six inning game, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out nine of the 26 batters faced.  Throughout the game, the hurler threw 119 pitches, 82 of them being strikes.  From behind the plate, Pickett had nine putouts, with Horsley adding another six from first base.

Aside from the exciting win over Nampa Christian, Malad celebrated several out of the park home runs hit at the various games of the Glenns Ferry tournament, including two by Peterson, one by Bostyn Combs, one by Horsley, and one by Pickett.  Coach Schow commented, “Every game our girls get better. They learn from errors and work hard to get things right. Our hitting is outstanding, and our base running so far is the best I have seen since I've started coaching for Malad. 

“At Glenns Ferry we faced Nampa Christian who has been ranked higher than us in the coaching poll. Peterson came out and pitched strong even though she was not feeling well.  Our girls played outstanding. I'm so honored to be a part of this program and to work with girls that make me laugh but also listen, adjust, and improve.”