If there was any doubt how the Lady Dragons would come out in their 2026 season, the dominating 15-0 win in their first game laid to rest all thoughts.  Saturday, March 14 the MHS team played their home opener hosting the Firth Cougars where they played a flawless game to come out the clear winner of the contest.

Liddia Gonzalez opened the game with an impressive show on the mound, throwing three consecutive strikes to collect the first out.  2 balls and 6 strikes later, the hurler ended the top of the first inning just as quickly as it started.

The Lady Dragons were a little slow to get their offense going, collecting two outs before Logan Maroney doubled on a fly ball to center to get on base.  Learning and adapting to the pitches, the MHS batters realized that many, if not most were outside the strike zone.  Patience for just the right pitch walked Sarah Toone and Harley Maddox on to load the bases behind Maroney.  Kendra Rupp battled at the plate, eventually walking to first and bringing around courtesy runner Maci Arnout for Malad’s first run of the game.

Connecting with the first pitch of the play, Stella Merja doubled on a line drive to right field to send around Maddox, Toone, and Rupp to quickly put the Lady Dragons up 4-0.

Inning two played out in a similar fashion as the first- Malad dominating with their field play to keep the Cougars from making any offensive headway.  Taking their turn behind the plate, Gonzalez slammed the first hit over the fence for the season, the home run putting them up 5-0. Two pop flies to the outfield eventually ended the MHS offense to close out the inning.

It only took two more innings to finish the game as the Lady Dragons continued to control the game.  Gonzalez finished the two innings without a single hit, tallying 11 strikeouts on 16 batters faced with zero errors.   

 The third inning saw Malad rack up five runs, Maddox scoring the first after hitting a ground ball on a full count with Rupp following with another ground hit.  Maddox took advantage of a wild pitch to steal home and bring the score to 6-0.  Taking a page out of her teammates book, Rupp scored a second run for the inning on another wild pitch.

Down the lineup, Gonzalez had another big hit for the Lady Dragons, doubling on a line drive to left field to send in Merja and Kialey Pickett.  Gonzalez rounded out the scoring for the inning as Maroney sent a single to left field.

One final inning of smart batting and strong base running led Malad to their first victory of the season.  Arnout, Rupp, Merja, Pickett and Aubrey Shulz each made their way around the bases to trigger the run rule and end the game 15-0.  

The short but sweet victory was just the start the Lady Dragons needed to start their season off in the right way.  Graduating seven starters the previous year left several openings for the new season.  While some might have had reservations to how the Lady Dragons would look with a new lineup, the MHS team knew they would be strong however the positions were filled.  

Acting Head Coach Aysha Maddox shared, “It’s tough when you lose such a large senior class but early on at open gyms we could see the excitement that these girls had and the effort that they had put in during the off season.  The struggle we are having as a coaching staff is we have so many that are potentially ready for a varsity spot, we just need some game time to see who is going to step up in a game!”

She continued, “Returning only 2 starters from last year means we have a whole team that has never played together on a varsity field.  They are starting to figure each other out, how to trust each other and how to play together, but that’s going to be one of our biggest hurdles this year.”

As they continue to hone in on their team chemistry and fine tune the details of their new line up, there is no doubt they have what it takes to make a strong season.  Coach Maddox gave high praises to their team, admitting it was their hope to surprise their opponents with tough offense and defense.  “These girls came out and against Firth and picked up right where last year’s team left off.  It was awesome to see.  Right now our pitching staff looks really good, shared Coach Maddox.  “Liddia got the first game against Firth and threw a no-hitter with 11 strike outs.  Kyndall Tanner threw most of the JV game with 10 strike outs.  Sarah Toone will pitch in our next game and we expect her to do just as well.”  

The Lady Dragons will continue their play at home as they host the Marsh Valley Eagles on Tuesday, March 17.  Thursday the MHS team will travel to Declo to take on the Hornets before returning home to play Bear Lake on Friday, March 20.