Malad’s Peterson finishes record-setting career with another dominant season

MALAD CITY — There is perhaps no greater compliment one can pay a baseball or softball player than to call them a five-tool player.

That title carries with it great weight. It means the player can hit for average, hit for power, field the ball and throw it at an elite level, and they can use their speed to impact the game. But for Malad High School senior and softball star Riglee Peterson, calling her a five-tool player may be short-changing her.

The senior can hit for average — she finished her high school career batting at a .535 clip. She provides premium pop out of her customary leadoff spot, homering 12 times this season. She is a top-tier defender and multiple positions, and stole more than 30 bases this season. But she does so much more for her team than what can be quantified.

Head coach Bri Adams firmly believes that Peterson has made everyone tied to the Malad Dragon softball better, from top to bottom.

“The program, she’s made it what it is,” Adams told EastIdahoSports.com. “A player like that doesn’t just make the team better, she makes the coaches better too. … She’s pushed everyone in the program to become better.”

Malad High School has not done the best job of tracking softball records in the past, according to Adams, who is quite sure that Peterson leaves the program as its all-time leader in several categories.

En route to two state championship and two state runners-up finishes in her high school career, Peterson posted 76 pitching wins and 595 pitching strikeout — both of which Adams believes to be program records.

But despite entering the season as the three-time reigning State 2A MVP, Peterson did not start the year as the staff ace. That designation went to sophomore Liddia Gonzalez, whom Adams said was outperforming the senior out of the gates.

A few weeks into the season, Adams recalled, Peterson approached her coach after practice and asked what she could do to earn more innings in the circle. Adams explained that Gonzalez was putting more spin on the ball, and fooling hitters at a higher rate.

“We had a conversation, then I put her in the next game … and, I kid you not, she threw harder than she’s ever thrown,” Adams said. “She had fire in her eyes. We ended up coming back in the seventh inning to win that game. There’s drive that is unmatched with that kid. If she wants something, she gets it.”

That fire, and yearning to be the best, however, never interfered with the importance Peterson has always put on being a good teammate. She never complained about losing innings to a teammate, but rather worked to improve herself and the rest of her team.

In fact, while the team was staying in Nampa for the Softball State Championships, they did a team-building exercise during which players were asked to provide a positive about themself, their team as a whole and one teammate in particular. Gonzalez singled out Peterson with an impassioned speech.

“In that meeting, Liddia looked at Riglee and was like, ‘You are my role model.’ Stuff like that is cool,” Adams said.

Peterson’s workload in the pitchers circle ticked up at state due to an injury suffered by Gonzalez in the days leading up to the district tournament.

Highlighting her pitching performances this year was Peterson’s last time out in the regular season.

On senior night, with the Dragons opening a new home field, Peterson threw a perfect game — retiring every batter faced for a full game, without allowing a base runner — something she had been pushing for all year. Malad finished its regular season with a 15-0 mercy-rule victory over conference foe Soda Springs.

“It was pretty rewarding, to watch her go through all of those stages — not getting the starting spot, not getting the time that she wanted,” Adams said of Peterson.

While blowing through the Cardinals, Peterson put another of her other tools on display in that regular season-ending victory. She hit two of her 12 homers.

Peterson often sent a wave on confidence through her dugout as she strode to the batters box, Adams said. Because of her prowess with the bat, Peterson was someone around whom Adams would form her offensive gamplan.

“A lot of time, I’ll see a look in her eye, and I know that ball is going to go over the fence,” Adams said, adding how Peterson’s looming at-bats impacted what she asked other batters to do. “When I’m thinking in my head, ‘Do I want this player to bunt?’ I think, ‘Well, we have one out and Riglee is going to be up to bat here soon.’ I want to save my outs — I do want to move base runners, but I plan around Riglee.”

Adams joked that Peterson, at times, was so locked in at the plate that she forgot to let up as she rounded the bases and would often high-five her coach at third with such vigor that it left a mark.

“She gave me some high-fives that nearly broke my hand,” Adams said with a laugh.

But it wasn’t just the longball that provided Malad with a sure-thing run. Peterson, who finished her senior season with a .575 average, was the team’s leading base-stealer. Peterson is not just one of the team’s fastest runners, but also its smartest base runner.

“When she got on, I knew she was going to score,” Adams said.

As for the additional tools, Peterson’s leadership showed itself in many ways — including the comfort level her teammates took to the plate.

“The benefit we’ve had all year is, we had Riglee throwing our batting practice,” Adams said. “I only had two girls batting below .400 … I think that’s because we have one of the top pitchers in the state pitching to my girls at practice. You can’t get any better than that.”

Her success, production and leadership will make Peterson difficult — if not impossible — to replace. Her graduation will be “a shot to the gut” of the Malad softball program. But she leaves a lasting impression. And everyone tied to Dragons softball is excited to see where Peterson takes her game — starting with Northwest Nazarene University, where she will attend and play softball next year.

“I just know that this is the start of it all, for her,” Adams said. “The sky is the limit.”