Its always a bittersweet goodbye to the end of the season, regardless of finishing on a win or a loss.  After a season of great competitions, tournament wins, and hardfought comebacks, the Lady Dragons say goodbye to another season of softball after being awarded the Idaho State Championship Runner-Up trophy.  

The second place finish was a great accomplishment for the MHS team, despite coming up short at the end.  Over the three day tournament, the Lady Dragons played 6 games against 5 opponents in the hot sun, wind, and rain.  Collectively they tallied 61 runs on 62 hits, including 5 home runs.  In the field they stacked up 114 putouts and 39 assists.  From the pitcher’s circle, Malad’s three pitchers threw 38 total innings, facing 183 batters, throwing 671 pitches, allowing 32 runs on 42 hits, walking 15 batters while striking out 47.  By the numbers, the 15 girl team played a truly impressive tournament.

The weekend opened with the Lady Dragons taking on the Firth Cougars.  Up to bat first, Firth slipped two quick runs in against the MHS defense.  The quick lead was short lived as Malad responded with five runs to end the inning.  Adding three more in the second and six in the third, the Lady Dragons were up 14-2 before the Cougars tacked on two more runs.  Still up by 10 in the bottom of the fifth inning, the game was called early, advancing Malad through the bracket.

The MHS softball team was pitted against the North Fremont Huskies in their morning game Thursday, May 16.  Having beat the Huskies twice in the season, the Lady Dragons were sure they were prepared for the matchup.  But North Fremont came out to play their very best game of the season, reading the ball just right to put up 7 runs on 12 hits.  After going seven innings, the Huskies claimed the victory 5-7.

Playing a double elimination bracket, the loss only meant that the Lady Dragons would have a longer path to the championship round, their ultimate goal of the tournament.  After a short break, Malad took the field again to take on their familiar conference opponent, the Declo Hornets.  

The MHS team set the tone of the game in the opening inning, giving Declo three quick outs followed by four runs of their own.  Over the following four innings, Malad added six more runs, including home runs by Riglee Peterson and Brylee Oglesbee.  

The Lady Dragon defense held the Hornets to 4 runs on 9 hits.  From the pitching circle, Liddia Gonzalez faced 29 batters in just over 5 innings, walking 4 and striking out 8.  Sarah Toone came in to relief pitch the final inning to walk 1 and strike out 2 batters.

The win over Declo set Malad to next play Parma who had won their opening game against Melba before losing their second game to Nampa Christian 16-4.  With a win over Firth, they found themselves in the same position as the Lady Dragons.  Both teams, feeling tired and drained after an already long day of softball, took to the field for the final game of the day.

On the field first, the Lady Dragons made quick work of the Parma offense, Tylee Venable getting the out at first base, Toone catching a fly ball to right field and Bostyn Combs catching another in center field to end the inning half.  

Malad went to hitting in the bottom of the first, Peterson, Aubrey Shulz, Combs, and Toone all scoring before the team collected three outs.   The second inning was near deja vu with the Panthers remaining scoreless, due to outs by Combs, Peterson and Venable.  The Lady Dragons followed with another four hits by Venable, Karlee Blaisdell, courtesy runner for catcher Logan Maroney, Peterson, and Shulz.  Toone batted in the latter three with a double to center field to bring the score to 8-0.

Parma responded with a score of their own in the top of the third.  The fourth and fifth innings saw Malad add two runs each and it began to look like the game could be over early if they could hold the Panthers scoreless and add one more run to their total.  But Parma brought an offensive surge, stringing together four consecutive runs midway through the sixth inning.

Taking a moment to collect her team, Head Coach Bri Adams took a time out to give her fielders a chance to reset.  The pause was just what they needed as they forced two outs on the next play.  The Panther hitter popped the hit up, landing it near third base where Teagan Daniels scooped up the ball to quickly tag her base for the out.  As soon as she had, she threw the ball to Venable at first to get the batter out to roll up a double play.  Second baseman Oglesbee forced the third out as she made the easy pop up catch.

The same defensive intensity flowed the remainder of the game as six of the last eight Panther batters collected outs courtesy of the Lady Dragon defense.  Peterson struck out four batters, with Venable getting the two other outs off the assist from Daniels and Peterson.

Adding two additional runs in the final innings, the MHS claimed the victory over Parma 12-5.  Remaining in the tournament at the end of the day, the Lady Dragons were once again set to take on the North Fremont Huskies after their shutout loss to Nampa Christian 0-10.

Determined to redeem themselves and their previous loss, the Lady Dragons prepared early Saturday morning before their 9 am game.  Not long after the first pitch, the storm clouds settled in and the two teams were forced to battle it out amidst the rainy conditions.   In spite of the rain making it difficult to pitch the ball, the grass wet and slippery, and bases almost dangerous to land on, the MHS team played with inspiring energy and drive.

The Lady Dragon defense came out in the first inning to keep the Huskies from a single base hit, Venable getting the out at first from Peterson, Gonzalez picking up a smacked hit to the pitcher’s circle, and Hadley Summers picking off a pop fly to left field.  Turning to offense, Peterson scored early after getting on base with a single line drive and batted in by Summers.  

Advancing to third base, Summers began to lead off toward home when the North Fremont catcher attempted the out.  Throwing the ball to third base, her teammate missed the catch, providing Summers with the perfect opportunity to run across home plate for a second Malad run.  

North Fremont managed two runs in the top of the second inning, reminding the Lady Dragons that they were still in the fight.  Just when it seemed that their offense was gaining momentum, Venable and Daniels made their second double play of the tournament.  Peterson began the play as she reached out for the ground hit and threw it to Venable at first base.  Firing it off as soon as she caught it, Venable connected with Daniels at third to get the final out of the inning.

Energized by the great defensive stop, the Lady Dragons took to hitting, led by Toone with a base hit made possible by another Husky error.  With the runner on first base, Oglesbee stepped up to the plate to hit a home run and swing the momentum completely in favor of Malad.  

There was no stopping the Lady Dragons as they continued to play through the five inning game, scoring runs in every inning, culminating in six runs in the final inning.  The inning included runs from Oglesbee, Venable, Summers, Combs, and Blaisdell.  In the mix of the scoring, Peterson hit her 12th home run of the season.  

Malad’s defense continued to be challenged by the North Fremont offense as they scored five more runs in the final innings of the game, demonstrating that they were clearly worthwhile competitors of the championship play-in game.  As the game concluded, the North Fremont team cheered on Malad saying, “Now go get Nampa Christian!”  The hope proved a greater challenge than the Lady Dragons were able to accomplish.

With the rain still coming off and on, the two teams took the field just after 11 AM.  Nearly two hours of softball played back and forth across seven innings had come down to the final bottom of the inning.  While the two teams had traded the lead back and forth, Nampa Christian retook the lead after a home run scored two runs for the Trojans.  

Digging deep on offense, Shulz hit a crucial double on a line drive to deep center field, coming up just short of a home run as it hit the fence and dropped down.  Shulz headed for third as Combs hit another base hit, rounding the base and heading for home to slide in and score a run for the Lady Dragons.  

The Trojans forced two outs with a strikeout and caught pop, leaving Malad with one remaining and one runner on base.  Senior Daniels stepped up to the plate, patiently letting the first pitch go past as it was outside the strike zone.  The pitcher snuck the next ball around her bat, putting the count at one each.  With the third pitch right in the strike zone, Daniels swung for the fences, connecting with the ball to send it deep into left field.  Flying high enough, the ball was just feet from clearing the fence, giving the Lady Dragons the home run they would need to time, when the Nampa Christian outfielder snagged the ball out of the air to stop the play and end the game. 

The disappointment of the 3-5 loss stung as the Lady Dragons celebrated their all too short run of the State Championship Tournament.  Before congratulating the Trojans, Coach Adams said to her team, “I am so proud of you.  You NEVER gave up.  I couldn’t have asked for anything more.” 

Speaking later of the tournament, Coach Adams shared, “Friday morning we lost- putting us in the loser side bracket of the state tournament. Which hasn’t happened to Malad this early on since 2013. It was uncharted territory for girls, and coaches alike. But we didn’t let that stop us- we battled back. 

“Beating Declo, Parma, and North Fremont- the ones who knocked us there in the first place, sending them all home and putting ourselves right back into the state championship was thrilling. We ended up coming up short in the championship game, but never did we ever quit. We truly gave it everything we had and left no regrets. So proud of every single person involved.” 

She concluded by saying, “This season we went 29-4, outscoring opponents 423 to 70.”  To describe her team she just used one word, “Dominant!”