Birthday boy Kurt Ward pitches Malad back into the state championship

MALAD CITY — On his 18th birthday, Malad senior Kurt Ward took the mound with a chance to pitch his reigning 3A state champion Dragons back into the state tournament, and immediately broke one of his team’s tenets of success — “pound the zone.”

Ward walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, setting the stage for Nampa Christian, needing to beat Malad twice Saturday, to score a first-inning run.

But once the birthday boy found the strike zone, he never lost it again, needing just 72 pitches to mow through the Trojans for a complete-game 3-2 win.

After the game, an emotional Ward hugged each one of his teammates, thanking them all for the roles they played in his special day.

“It feels amazing. Birthday wishes do come true,” he said. “I just felt comfortable up there on the mound with my team behind me. I couldn’t do it without them.”

The right-hander saved his highest praise, though, for the one teammate in front of him while he’s pitching. Ward said he has the ultimate confidence and “sense of security” when he’s throwing to Malad’s All-State catcher Carter Carey.

“It definitely makes baseball a lot more fun when you have a good catcher,” Ward said with a smile.

Carey said the feeling is mutual.

“I always have faith in Kurt,” he told EastIdahoSports.com. “Coming into the year, even last year at state when he pitched. This year, he’s placed the ball well and been really hard to hit. … I always have faith, I always know he’s going to to make a good pitch, he’s going to execute every time.”

Nampa Christian parlayed the first-inning lead-off walk into a run and 1-0 lead. From the second inning through the sixth, Ward held the Trojans scoreless on two hits. The visitors finally did score an unearned run in the top of the seventh, making it a 3-2 ballgame. But Ward stuck with his approach and finished his day with a strikeout, his sixth. Allowing just three hits and one earned run, Ward walked just the one.

“It’s not typical of Kurt to walk the first guy,” said Malad head coach Chad Maroney, “but it happened, and he got through it, settled in, and just looked great today. Awesome.”

It took a while for the Dragon offense to find an opening against Nampa Christian starter Pete Dice, but they finally did with a third-inning RBI double off the bat of junior shortstop Dawsyn Peterson.

Peterson came around to score the go-ahead run on a Carey single, letting Ward pitch with a lead for the first time.

Maroney spoke about how confident his offense is, saying that there is always a positive mood in the dugout.

“Throughout our lineup, one through nine, I’m confident in everybody,” he said. “I don’t feel like we really taper off … and at some point we always generate runs.”

The Dragons added an insurance run in the fourth on a Kyson Willie sacrifice fly, sending in Ethan Horsley.

That insurance proved necessary in the seventh, when the Trojans made it a one-run game with two down on a throwing error.

Following Ward’s final pitch, the Dragons enjoyed a very muted celebration before quickly shaking hands with Nampa Christian, despite the victory making them regional champions and state qualifiers. As they returned to the dugout, several players could be heard repeating the mantra, “We’re not done yet,” with the team obviously focused on repeating as state champs.

Asked what they will need to do so, Ward said his team will need to remain fully accountable, noting that Carey does a great job of both building his teammates up and pointing out when they need to do better.

Carey, echoing his coach, said that the Dragons just need to continue relying on and playing for each other.

“No one can really handle us when we all (play) together,” he said.