Malad bested by Nampa Christian, finishes second straight season in second place

CALDWELL — It’s not often you see a championship victory celebrated in left field. But given how the 3A Softball State Championship game ended, it was a fitting location for the Nampa Christian Trojans.

Trailing 5-3 with two down in the seventh, Malad senior Teagan Daniels stepped to the plate with a runner on second, representing the tying run, and she leaned on a 1-1 pitch, smoking a line drive to left. Off the bat, the liner looked to be headed over the fence for a game-tying homer, but as top-spin began to drag it down, it seemed most assuredly to be an RBI extra-base hit.

But Trojan left fielder Ellie Kroes had other ideas. The freshman retreated toward the fence, and at the last moment sent her arm fully extended over her head with a lunge to haul in the third out of the inning and clinch a state championship for Nampa Christian.

The entire Trojan team converged on Kroes as the celebration began, while the Dragons quickly went from the elation of a potential game-tying hit to the realization their season was over.

Malad was the top-ranked 3A squad all season, and entered the state tournament as the top seed. But for the second year in a row, the Dragons finish as runners-up.

After the team met briefly, then accepted the second-place trophy, head coach Bri Adams was still battling to compose herself.

“I love them like they’re my own,” Adams said fighting back tears. “You get so close to them over the years, coaching them through the summer and coaching them all throughout high school. … I don’t have any daughters, so I always tell them that they’re my daughters.”

The Dragons suffered an upset loss Friday, at the hands of the North Fremont Huskies, and were forced into a position that required they go 3-0 on championship Saturday. They started the day with a rain-drenched 17-7 victory over that same Husky team.

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The fight continued into the downpour as the Trojans grabbed an early 2-0 advantage.

But as they have done all year, Malad refused to go away. The Dragons scored single runs in the third and fourth innings — on RBIs from Hadlee Summers and Riglee Peterson — to knot things up.

The Trojans reclaimed a one-run lead in the sixth, when Kate Nelson poked a single through the right side scoring Sydney Kinzler from second.

Nampa Christian then tacked on some insurance in the seventh on a two-run bomb from Addison Gray. The ball left the yard, but not for lack of effort on the part of Malad center fielder Bostyn Combs.

Combs sold out on her effort to rob the homer, lunging over the fence in what resembled a “yard sale” skiing crash.

Again though, Malad did not go quietly.

The Dragons got hits from Aubrey Shulz and Combs, who was apparently uninjured following her collision with the fence and ground, to score one run and bring the tying run to the plate with no outs.

Trojan starter Peyton Shook, who tossed a complete game, pitched around the trouble though, with a huge assist from her left fielder.

Shook struck out six Dragons, holding them to five hits and three runs — two earned.

As they were all tournament, Nampa Christian was led offensively by Gray, who recorded two hits and two runs scored.

Shulz was the only Malad hitter to pick up multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with one run scored.

Peterson, the three-time state 2A MVP, drove in one run and scored another. She was held hitless, but drew one walk and stole a pair of bases. She also came on in relief of sophomore Liddia Gonzalez in the second, tossing 6 innings and holding the Trojans to six hits and four runs — three earned — while striking out four.

Peterson is one of eight seniors, a group that has now been a part of two state championships and two second-place finishes. Adams admitted that the large senior class was part of the reason for her emotions after the game.

“Also, it just really sucks to lose,” she added. “It sucks to be second place, and this is the second year in a row.”

Despite Saturday’s loss, Adams said she could not be more proud of her players, and hopes to convince them that despite the massive expectations that come with being part of a championship tradition, a second-place finish is one of which to be proud.

“I don’t think there are words to accurately describe how proud I am,” she said, noting that the team could have crumbled after a second-round loss. “We just kept scrapping.”

Despite the large senior class, Adams believes her team is in position to make another run at the banner next season.

Several key contributors, including Shulz (junior), Logan Maroney (junior), Gonzalez (sophomore) and Sarah Toone (freshman), will be back next year. Plus, Malad’s JV team
went 18-3, she said, so there are some capable reinforcements.

“I think we have good chances (of winning next year),” she said. We have depth, we have pitchers … I have high hopes for us being back. Obviously, we’re losing a lot of key players, but we are very capable of coming back.”