The MHS Dragon Baseball team started the 2026 season in a big way.  The team hosted the opening game of the season, making history as they played the very first game on the new field.  If playing on the new field and winning their first contest of the year wasn’t a big enough start, playing three more games over three consecutive nights certainly was. 

To the cheers of parents, friends and MHS fans, the Dragons stepped on their new field after waiting more than two seasons for it to be ready.  Wednesday, March 11, the Dragons cut the ribbon to signify a new era for Dragon baseball, not only for the coaches and athletes that will play on the field but also to those that have dreamed, invested, and worked towards this huge step in the program.  Dennis Evans was invited to throw the first pitch of the game, a thanks to him for the years of relentless support to make the baseball program a possibility.

Taking on the Snake River Panthers, the MHS team played a dominating game as they won 6-2.  Senior Kurt Ward started on the mound for the Dragons, striking out Snake River’s first two batters.  Hudson Daniels snagged the final out of the innings, taking the catch from Dawson Peterson at shortstop.

Now up to bat in the bottom of the inning, Malad put one run across the plate to take an early lead.  Peterson, second in the line up, found his way to first base after four pitches outside the strike zone.  Seeing an opening after the first pitch, Peterson stole second.  Two pitches later, Carter Carey singled a line drive to left field, punching in the first run of the game.

Both teams went scoreless in the second inning, but Malad picked up the pace in the third inning to widen the gap on the scoreboard.  Much like Peterson, Holdyn Higley was walked on first and advanced to second base on the next at bat.  Between pitches, Higley slipped across home plate to make it 2-0.  

With Brayden Arnout on second base as courtesy runner for catcher Carter and Braxden Kaufman on first after a single to center, Ethan Horsley swung at the plate to hit a double line drive deep into center to punch Arnout and Kaufman in and extend the lead 4-0.  

The bottom of the 5th saw the Dragons add another run.  Second in the lineup for the inning, Peterson tripled on a line drive to center.  Ready and waiting on third, Peterson took off for home after the ball hit the outfielders glove as Carey popped up a sacrifice fly to right field.

Snake River battled back in the top of the sixth, scoring two runs before Peterson threw a final strike to finish off the inning outs.  Easton Green added Malad’s final score of the game, getting on base with a double before Cale Briggs hit a single to bat him in.  Collecting two more outs, MHS defense took the field, forcing three outs on four batters before claiming the victory of their opening game.

The following day found the Dragons in Burley where they fell 0-10 in only five innings.  

Picking themselves up after the loss, the MHS team traveled to Ogden where they claimed the win 10-5.  The Dragons started the scoring early in the first inning as Peterson hit a home run, sending in Briggs ahead of him.  They extended their lead in the second inning to 5-0, Higley hitting a line drive to left field with the bases loaded to bat in Green, Briggs, and Ky Willie.  

Ogden battled back in the bottom of the third inning, tying the score at five runs.  But the Dragons weren’t finished from behind the plate, Green scoring in the fourth inning to give Malad a one run lead.  Both teams went scoreless through the sixth inning, the defense dominating the play on the field.  

The final inning saw the MHS team seal the game as they scored four runs to extend their lead 10-5.  Peterson landed on base with a single, Carey walked on base behind him.  Kaufman followed at the plate with a single to shortstop to send in Peterson.  Ward slammed a double to right field to bat in Carey from second base.  

Daniels patiently waited for his pitch, getting on when four of the five throws went outside the strike zone.  Down the batting line two, Green hit a line drive to center to finish Kaufman’s run around the bases.  With the bases loaded, Briggs hit a ground ball in shortstop territory to help Ward make his way across home for a final score in the game.

Saturday afternoon gave the Dragons a second look at Burley as they hosted the Bobcats.  The 5A team came out swinging once again, putting up two runs in the first, two in the second and one in the third.  The MHS defense picked up momentum in the fourth inning to stop Burley’s scoring completely.  Willie out in center field caught the line hit to collect the first out.  At the pitcher’s mound Ward collected the second and third outs to end the inning half.  

Tightening things up even further, Malad collected three outs in three batters, Peterson at shortstop and Daniels on the mound leading the inning.  The strong defensive efforts continued through the final inning of the game, holding the Bobcats scoreless.  

In the bottom of the seventh, the Dragons got on the board, Peterson doubling on the first pitch to get on base.  Carey followed with a double of his own to punch in Peterson and bring the score to 5-1.

Over the four-game stretch, the Dragons combined  for 17 runs on 23 hits at the plate. Green led the offense with five hits and three runs scored, while Peterson added three hits and four runs scored.  Carey also contributed with three hits and three RBIs, and Briggs finished the stretch with three hits and two runs scored. On the mound, the Dragons’ pitching staff combined for 29 strikeouts over 25.2 innings, with Ward leading the way with eight strikeouts.

Talking over the opening week of games, Head Coach Chad Maroney was excited for how his team was starting the season.  Taking on a variety of opponents brought opportunities to challenge, measure, and teach the team.  He said, “We are right where we wanted to be-- earning some wins while accepting a few losses to programs that we knew would be tough to beat.”

Coming back to limit Burley to only five runs in seven innings after being run-ruled in their previous game was a great accomplishment and demonstration of Malad’s ability to adjust, especially in such a tight turn around.

When asked about playing on the new field, Coach Maroney admitted it was worth the wait as he shared, “The field looks great and it’s exciting to be out on it, especially this early in the season.  The atmosphere here is great, especially when the girls are playing softball on the other side.  Saturday afternoon had a packed crowd and it was great to see such support for the teams.”

The Dragon baseball team will next travel to Snake River on Tuesday, March 17 to take on the Panthers in their second game of the season before hitting the road to play conference opponent the Declo Hornets Thursday.  The following day they will host Ogden, the game beginning at 4 pm.