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Idaho Enterprise

Softball regular season ends

The Lady Dragon softball team ended their season with a big finish, shutting out their last two conference opponents as they played Bear Lake and Soda Springs.  The team ended their season with a perfect record with 16 wins and zero losses.  As they move into post season tournaments, they are taking that same determination and tough play to hopefully finish out the season with that same perfect record.

 As they played out their last week of the season, the Lady Dragons were hosted by Declo on Tuesday, May 2.  Malad made quick work of getting runs on the scoreboard, scoring on the second play of the game.  Bostyn Combs, first to bat for MHS, was walked on base.  She then worked her way around the bases, stealing second and then on to third on a wild pitch.  As Aubrey Shulz hit a ground ball to third base, Combs took it home for the first run of the game.  Shulz added a second run as Addley Kimberling doubled on a fly ball to center field.

The defense was gloves up and ready to catch as Declo went to bat in the bottom of the first inning.  Beth McClain caught a pop fly out to shortstop for the first out, Hallie Horsley picking up the next pop fly at first base, and Combs getting the last out of the inning on a pop fly to center field.

In the next inning, pitcher Peterson kept the Hornets from getting on base, striking out all three of her opponents as well as two of the three batters in the third inning.  Horsley got the final out of the inning at first base after Peterson snagged the ground ball and threw it in before Declo’s runner could make it on base.

The Lady Dragons held the Hornets scoreless until the fourth inning where they managed one run to bring the score, 2-1.  Malad answered with two more runs at the top of the fifth, as Peterson hit a home run with Combs already on base.  Declo put up one more run in the bottom of the fifth.  Defense on both teams dominated the final two innings of the game, with neither team making their way around the bases again.  The win against the Hornets was another well earned victory as Declo is also leading in their conference and highly ranked in the state this year.

The following day, May 3, the MHS team traveled to Bear Lake for their second match up of the game.  The Lady Dragons made a huge statement from the plate with four of their sluggers hitting a home run in the five inning game, including Kimberling, Peterson,  Kaitlyn Pickett and Combs.  Combs led the team in hitting, getting two hits and two runs on four at bats and batting in two of her teammates.  In addition to the home runs, Schulz added a double in the top of the fifth inning, batting in Graycee Goddard for the ninth run of the game.  

Horsley at first base and Shulz as catcher led the team in putouts for the game with six and seven respectively.  Brylee Oglesbee at second base led the team in assists with four.  Peterson was once again at the mound for the Lady Dragons, throwing 48 strikes in a total of 65 pitches in five innings, allowing only one hit, one walk, eight strikeouts and zero errors.

For the final game of the softball season, Malad faced off against the Cardinals at Soda Springs.  In just four innings, the Lady Dragons shut out the Cardinals, 20-0.  It was their base play that allowed them to dominate the game.  The team tallied six stolen bases, with Horsley earning half of them.

The 2A District D tournament games began in Malad Monday, May 8 with the Lady Dragons taking on the Cardinals once again in the opening game.  Malad made quick work of the game, holding Soda Springs scoreless in the top of the first inning and putting up seven runs in the bottom of the first.  In the second inning, the Lady Dragons again kept the Cardinals without a run and then added eleven more in the bottom of the second to bring the score 18-0.  Soda Springs managed a single run in the third inning for a final score of 18-1.  

Pickett led the team with RBIs, batting in Horsley and Kimberling with a hard ground ball out towards third base in the first inning.  In the second inning, Pickett hit a home run for the final two runs of the game, batting in Kimberling before she ran across home herself.  Previously, in the first inning, Oglesbee slammed the ball over the fence for the first home run of the game and the final score of the inning.  Horsley led the team with hitting, never wasting her chance at the plate as she had three runs on three hits on three at bats.  

The Lady Dragons will continue with their tournament play throughout the week as games are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.  While the team has their eyes set for games beyond districts, Coach Christie Schow shared that they take things just one game at a time, saying, “We play each game like it's the toughest game we will play all season.  We give it 100% of our focus and 100% of our effort.”  Clearly, this strategy is working for the team and is preparing them well for each step of their post season journey.