Continuing the tradition of claiming the 3A District 4/5 Baseball Champion title, the Malad Dragons celebrated Saturday, May 3 as they secured the final victory of the three day district tournament.  As the top seed of the tournament, Malad was named host of the 2025 district tournament.  The Dragons swept their three tournament games to finish their conference contests undefeated against district teams for the 2025 season.

The MHS baseball team first played Thursday, May 1 against the Declo Hornets.  Previously, the Hornets had narrowly beaten Lighthouse Christian of Twin Falls in the first game of the tournament.  The Dragons jumped to an early lead, putting up 7 runs in the opening inning.

Malad’s first two batters, Cale Briggs and Holdyn HIgley, were walked on base by Declo.  Briggs scored the first run of the game as Carter Blaisdell put a bunt on the field that the Hornets struggled to play.  Brady Showell hit a ground ball in third base territory to bat in Higley.

Blaisdell took advantage of a passed ball to finish his run around the bases to rack up another run for Malad.  Showell on third and Carter Carey on second, walked on previously, scored the fourth and fifth run of the inning as their teammate came up short at first base, earning the first out.  

Kurt Ward followed at the plate, once again getting walked on base.  Ethan Horsley stepped in to run bases for the pitcher, stealing his way to third base as Bryce Howe battled the pitcher at home.  Howe managed a double hit on a full count to punch in Horsley for the final run of the inning.  

Adding two more runs in the second inning and one in the third, the Dragons found themselves up 10-0 at the top of the fourth inning.  The Hornets found it in them to battle back as they played into the inning, getting 3 runs on 3 hits.  Despite letting Declo creep back in the game, Malad expanded their lead in the fifth inning by adding two more runs.

Ward and Carey split time on the mound, each facing 14 batters throughout the game.  Ward allowed 3 runs on 2 hits, walking one and striking out 7.  Carey allowed zero runs on 1 hit, walking zero and striking out 7.  Howe on first base had 4 putouts, getting the assist from Ward, Blaisdell, and Showell.    

With their 12-3 over Declo, Malad advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament to play the Wendell Trojans.  Playing seven innings at the pitcher’s hill, Howe started off the game with two strikeouts in the first inning to help keep the Trojans scoreless.  As the Dragons took to batting, they tallied up two runs before collecting the third out of the inning.  

Blaisdell and Carey each connected to hit singles to the outfield.  Blaisdell came across home base between pitches as Ward was up to bat.  Showell followed, collecting an RBI as he hit a fly ball to right field to send Carey in, putting the score at 2-0.Ky Willie, on base after hitting a hard ground ball to center field, scored as the Trojan pitcher balked to add the only run of the second inning.  

Wendell narrowed the gap on the scoreboard by adding 2 runs in the third inning, the first runner on base by getting hit by the pitch, followed by a homerun hit.  The Dragon defense tightened up to force three outs on the upcoming four batters.  The offense went to work in the bottom of the fourth inning, getting five runners on base to score 2 runs before collecting their outs of the inning.  

Malad rounded out the game with two more runs in the sixth inning while they continued to hold Wendell scoreless in the final innings.  Howe, having already thrown over 100 pitches, struck out two more batters with Briggs forcing the final out after catching a pop fly to second base territory.

The 8-2 win secured Malad’s place in the championship game played Saturday, May 3.  Once again, the Dragons were set against the Trojans after Wendell took out Declo the day before.  

Pitching for the MHS team, Showell set the tone for the Malad team as he struck out two batters early in the first inning, followed by a forced out at first base by Howe on a line drive catch.  The Dragon offense found their way around the bases in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead.  

Much like their previous matchup, the Trojans just couldn’t connect with the ball, and when they could, found themselves defeated by a ready Dragon defense.  In six innings, the Dragons faced only 21 batters, allowing only three opponents on base.  The fifth inning proved to be the most challenging inning for the Malad as Wendell managed a base hit that converted into a run for the Trojans.  Following the score, Showell shut down the Wendell offense, throwing a strike, a foul, and a final strike.

Celebrating their 10-1 win, Head Coach Jeff Snow shared how proud he was of his team’s accomplishment to become the 2025 district champion team.  The weekend saw continued progress from game to game as they reduced errors, improvements hitting, and more refined pitching.  He commented, “Brady Showell pitched a great game Saturday.  His best outing since the Clearfield game!”

“Carter Blaisdell and Ky Willie had great hits, with Rydon Montgomery getting a big hit in our Friday game,” praised Snow.  He continued, “Willie also had some big catches in the outfield, one we couldn’t help but be surprised that he came up with the ball.”

May 9 and 10, the Dragons will host the 3A Play-In series Southern Qualifying tournament, playing Parma Friday, May 9 in their first game.  The double elimination tournament features only three teams including Malad, Parma, and Grangeville.  The winner of the tournament will move on to the four team state tournament.

Malad vs Declo

3A District Tournament

Thursday, May 1, 2025

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H

Declo  0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 3

Malad  7 2 1 0 2 0 - 12 9

LINEUP AB R H RBI BB

Cale Briggs 3 1 0 0 1

Holdyn Higley 3 2 0 0 1

Carter Blaisdell 3 1 2 1 1

Carter Carey 2 2 2 0 2

Brady Showell 3 2 0 1 1

Ky Willie 3 0 0 2 0

Braxden Kaufman 1 0 1 0 0

Kurt Ward 1 0 1 2 1

Rydon Montgomery 2 0 0 0 0

Brycen Howe 3 1 1 1 0

Easton Green 2 2 2 1 1

TEAM TOTALS 26 12 9 8 8

PITCHING IP H R BB SO

Kurt Ward 3.1 2 3 1 6

Carter Carey 3.2 1 0 0 7

TEAM TOTALS 7.0 3 3 1 13

Malad vs Wendell

District Tournament

Friday, May 2, 2025

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H

Wendell  0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 4

Malad  2 1 0 3 0 2 - 8 14

LINEUP AB R H RBI BB

Cale Briggs 4 1 1 0 0

Holdyn Higley 4 0 2 2 0

Carter Blaisdell 4 2 3 1 0

Carter Carey 4 2 2 0 0

Kurt Ward 2 0 0 0 1

Rydon Montgomery 1 0 1 2 0

Easton Green 3 0 1 0 1

Brady Showell 3 0 1 1 0

Braxden Kaufman 3 0 1 0 0

Ethan Horsley 0 1 0 0 0

Ky Willie 2 2 2 0 1

TEAM TOTALS 30 8 14 6 3

PITCHING IP H R BB SO

Brycen Howe 7.0 4 2 3 11

Malad vs Wendell

District Tournament

Saturday, May 3, 2025

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H

Wendell  0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1

Malad  2 0 1 1 6 0 - 10 8

LINEUP AB R H RBI BB

Cale Briggs 4 1 0 1 0

Holdyn Higley 3 1 0 0 1

Carter Blaisdell 4 2 2 1 0

Carter Carey 3 2 2 1 0

Rydon Montgomery 3 1 1 1 0

Ky Willie 2 0 0 1 1

Brady Showell 3 0 1 1 0

Brycen Howe 2 1 1 1 1

Kurt Ward 1 0 0 0 0

Easton Green 3 1 1 0 0

Brooks Blaisdell 0 0 0 0 0

TEAM TOTALS 28 10 8 7 3

PITCHING IP H R BB SO

Brady Showell 7.0 1 1 1 12