Malad opens defense of its state title with a 7-4 win over Salmon in state opener

CALDWELL – As a No. 4 seed in the 3A state tournament a year ago, it might seem Malad was either overlooked or at the very least, an underdog in the four-team state tournament.

Didn’t matter then as the Dragons rolled to a state title. Doesn’t matter now even though Malad entered Thursday’s state opener as the No. 1 seed.

The Dragons are one step closer to adding another state title after they defeated upstart Salmon 7-4 to move into the semifinals.

Malad broke the game open with four runs in the fourth and starter Kurt Ward held the high-octane Salmon offense in check for most of the game.

“I think we’re playing our best baseball,” Malad coach Chad Maroney said. “These guys rise up for this stuff, hopefully better here than they played all season. They’re up for it.”

The Dragons returned the core group of players from last year’s team, so expectations were already high. They entered Thursday’s game riding a 10-game win streak.

“This team is better,” Maroney said of any comparisons to last year’s squad. “All the way our 1-through-9 we hit the ball better and our pitching is deeper than last year. We developed some of those young kids that came up. We only lost three (seniors) and we filled in those pieces and we’re tougher than we were last year.”

The Dragons (23-4) led 2-0 early on as Carter Carey and Easton Green each knocked in runs.

Salmon, which came in averaging nearly 13 runs per game, tied it in the third on a two-run double by Cody Cox.

But the Dragon lineup responded in the fourth, taking advantage of two Salmon errors and a couple of timely hits.

Salmon (22-5), playing in its first state tournament after winning the Nuclear Conference, added a run in the fifth and another in the seventh, but would get no closer.

Green, a junior, said the experience of last year’s championship run has definitely helped with the team’s confidence.

“It paid off a lot,” he said, noting a lot of the current players have played together even before high school.

“It’s a lot more comforting when you’ve been through the state experience,” Ward said. “You feel like you have a little more experience than some of these teams.”

The flip side of having a ton of experience and the title of defending state champion is that everyone is after the crown.

“It’s a lot harder when you have a target on your back,” Ward said. “You have to play your best.”

Cale Briggs finished with two RBIs for Malad and Cox finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs for Salmon.

Malad will face No. 2 seed Orofino at 4 p.m. and Salmon will face No. 3 Melba at 7 p.m. at Wolfe Field in Caldwell.