The Lady Dragon softball team came off their spring break for a big week of games, playing five games in four days.  The team dominated conference opponent the West Side Pirates in an 18-0 victory before competing in the annual Glenns Ferry Tournament where they went 3-1 over the weekend.

After just a couple of practices following their break, the MHS team had no problem getting back into the game as they had their first contest of the week.  Malad opened the game against the Pirates in a big way, putting up eight runs in the opening inning. 

Liddia Gonzalez, Stella Merja, Sarah Toone, Harley Maddox, Aubrey Shulz, Kialey Pickett and Aspen Bingham worked together to contribute to the Lady Dragons score as they played through the top of the first inning.  It wasn’t just their stellar hitting that led to such dominating, but their keen base running and watchful eye at the plate.  Taking advantage of wild pitches, Pirate errors, and moments of indecision, the MHS team aggressively made their way around the bases.

The second inning unfortunately saw multiple hits go straight into the hands of the West Side defense, lending to only two runs for the inning.  But that luck was short-lived as they once again scored eight runs in the third inning.  With West Side unable to answer Malad’s play in the bottom of the inning, the game was called after just the three innings.

    The conference game was just the warm up the Lady Dragons needed before they competed in the annual Glenns Ferry tournament where they saw teams they will likely compete against in the post season games.  The tournament served a second purpose as it allowed them to play Nampa Christian, the reigning state champion team.

Coach Aysha Maddox shared, “The primary reason for our trip to Glenns Ferry this weekend was for a rematch of last year’s state championship game against Nampa Christian, and that game certainly did not disappoint. The teams battled back and forth through the early innings before we took a 4-3 lead and held it until the sixth inning. 

“Unfortunately, Nampa Christian strung together several hits in the sixth inning and scored five runs to take control. We fought back and added a few more runs of our own, but ultimately came up just short.

She concluded her thoughts on the game saying, “It was a fantastic game and a great opportunity for our team to prove what we can do. We finished with nine hits to their ten, proving that the game could have gone either way!  Hopefully we will have another opportunity to face them in the state championship, and next time the outcome will be different.”

The loss against Nampa Christian was the only loss the Lady Dragons suffered at the tournament, completely dominating the remainder of their games.  In their second game the afternoon of Friday, April 10, the MHS team took on the Grangeville Bulldogs.  The game took some time to get rolling as both teams went scoreless through the first three innings.  

Merja got the scoring going for Malad, using the well played bunt by Toone to her advantage.  Logan Maroney followed with a line drive to center field to bat in Toone for their two runs of the inning.  

The MHS team broke the game wide open in the fifth inning as they scored seven runs to take a commanding lead.  The scoring streak was given a big boost by the double hit from Maroney and the triple bagger from Bingham.   

The Lady Dragons finished the game in a flawless manner as they not only held the Bulldogs scoreless through the final innings, but as they scored nine additional runs to end the game up 18-0.  In total, Malad accumulated 20 hits in the game. Merja and Maddox each collected four hits. Maroney, Merja, and Bingham each drove in three runs, while Shulz, Toone, and Pickett each collected multiple hits. 

The Lady Dragons earned two more wins Saturday, winning each game with an amazing 22 runs.  In their first game of the day against Glenns Ferry, Malad had a powerful presence at the plate. The team tallied four double hits by Shulz, Maddox, Pickett, and Merja in addition to multiple triple hits by Maroney and Toone.  Coupled with their powerful hitting was a strong base running game, led by Shulz who had two stolen bases, with Pickett and Toone each with a stolen base.

The MHS team closed out the weekend with another big win, against the Wilder Wildcats.  Up to bat in the bottom of the first, the Lady Dragons exploded with 11 scored runs in the inning.  Getting up early in the game, the coaching staff made some changes to the teams’ positions.  Using it as an opportunity for players to work on new positions, the highlight of the mixup was putting senior catcher Maroney in the pitcher’s circle instead of behind the plate.  Coach Maddox shared, “Logan had the opportunity to pitch a few innings and performed very well. Logan saw some time in the circle during her freshman year but has had limited action on the mound since then, making it a special moment for her and the team.”

 While the team’s offense really was quite impressive as they collected a total of 67 runs on 57 hits over the tournament weekend, Coach Maddox praised the team’s defense as well.  Allowing just 6 runs on 13 hits against four teams, including the returning state championship team, speaks volumes to the strong defense the Lady Dragon team has played.

The Lady Dragons will return home for a big week as they not only take on the Soda Springs Cardinals Wednesday, April 15 but as they also host their annual Scott Ray Invitational Tournament over the weekend.