The Malad Dragons enjoyed the sweet victory of claiming yet another district championship title after they hosted the 2A District 5 baseball tournament beginning Wednesday, May 8.  

Having a bye as the number one seed of the tournament, Malad first played the winner from the Soda Springs vs Bear Lake matchup, which resulted in a BLHS win.  The Dragons took to the field on the chilly Wednesday evening in what was a highly defense dominated game.

Malad was led from the mound by Ryan Hubbard who struck out 10 of the batters he faced, throwing 60 strikes of his 78 pitches.  Over the seven inning game, the hurler only allowed 2 hits, while not walking any on base.  

In the event that the Bear hitters did connect with the ball, the Dragon defense was ready to snag the out.  Brycen Howe at first base picked up seven putouts, each out off the assist of one from Hubbard, Brady Showell at third base,  and Carter Blaisdell behind
the plate.

The Dragon offense didn’t pick up until the fifth inning of the game as Peterson punched in the first run.  Getting on base after being hit by the pitch, Peterson advanced to second base as Blaisdell hit a high ball towards third base.  Hubabrd followed with a single ground ball to left field to bat Peterson in for the first score of the game.

Malad scored two additional runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Kurt Ward smacked a hard double bagger to center field before stealing third base on a risk that played out perfectly.  Ward finished his way back to home after Briggs hit a grounder that was fumbled by the first baseman.  Briggs punched in the final score of the game two plays later.

Ready to seal the deal, the Dragons came out swinging, literally, in their second matchup against Bear Lake as they defeated Soda Springs once again.  The MHS hitters connected with the pitch early in the game, Blaisdell doubling in the opening inning to bat in Peterson for their first run.  

The scoring really took off as they stacked up five runs in the bottom of the second, beginning with Carter Carey’s triple line drive to left field to send in Jensen and Cael Seamons.  Green followed with a base hit to bat in Ky Willie who stepped in as courtesy runner for Carey.  Peterson followed at the plate to bat in Green on a hit to shortstop, and rounded out the scoring for the inning as Hubbard made his way on base after a Bear Lake dropped
third strike.

The Dragons continue to rack up runs throughout the remaining three innings to lead the Bears 13-2.  Hubbard led the team from behind the plate with 2 runs on 1 hit on 3 at bats with 2 RBIs.  Howe spearheaded the defensive efforts from the mound as he pitched 4 innings, allowing 2 hits on 5 runs, walking 1 and striking out 5.  Ward came in as relief pitcher for the final inning where he struck out 1 and walked 1.

The senior Dragon players were recognized following their Wednesday game as their final home game of the regular season was canceled.  The Senior players included Hubbard, Jensen and Sawyer Poulson, all who have been a part of the Dragon baseball program for several years and contributed in large ways to
their success.