Malad takes super-regional opener behind dominant Howe

MALAD CITY — The Malad Dragons opened their state regional play-in tournament with a solid victory behind a stout Brycen Howe.

Howe got the ball for the five-seed Dragons (20-6) and proceeded to shove for 7 innings, striking out 10 while allowing just three hits and one walk as Malad came away with a 3-0 win over the nine-seed Parma Panthers (11-16) at Malad City Park, Friday.

Head coach Jeff Snow called Howe’s performance “fantastic.”

As Snow pointed out, in a tournament setting like the super-regional play-in, when a team must win three games in two days, getting a complete game from the game one starter sets the perfect tone.

“The pressure’s on. Him pitching the way he did, that’s a huge victory,” the coach said of his senior.

Despite their hosting the tourney, Snow’s Dragons do not come into the weekend as its top-seed. That distinction goes to the four-seed Grangeville Bulldogs (16-10), whom Malad earned the right to face in game two of the tourney.

Howe though, put his team in the best position it could hope for. With a fully stocked cupboard of fresh arms, Snow will send his “1B” starter — to Howe’s “1A” — Brady Showell to the mound to face the Bulldogs, with a win putting Malad in the driver’s seat for the championship round Saturday.

Defensively, the Dragons were near flawless behind their starter — with their lone error coming on a mishandled bunt by Howe himself.

Offensively, Malad did just enough. Though they got a few assists from defensive miscues by Parma.

The game’s first run crossed the plate in the second, when Panther catcher Jared Mikelson’s attempt at cutting down a runner at third sailed wide and out of play.

Parma starter Samuel Hultman, who also threw a complete game to aid his squad, held the line there until the fifth inning, when Braxden Kaufman, who scored Malad’s first run, triggered the inning with an opposite-field single.

The Dragons parlayed that lead-off single into a pair of runs, on RBIs from Holdyn Higley and Carter Blaisdell.

“Those insurance runs were huge, because that 1-0 lead is nothing. In a tournament like this, one run is nothing — one bad pitch and it’s tied,” Snow said.

“We’re still just not where I want us to be, hitting-wise. We haven’t had a breakout game yet, and I hope it’s this afternoon,” the coach added.

Game two of the 3A Southeast super-regional play-in series begins at 3 p.m., pitting host Malad against top-seeded Grangeville.