The Malad Dragons will square off against the Lighthouse Christian Lions at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Lighthouse Christian will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Malad extended their winning streak to three on Friday. Everything went the Dragons' way against Glenns Ferry as they made off with a 15-1 win. The Dragons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by seven runs or more this season.
Holdyn Higley made a splash no matter where he played. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four). He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Malad got a big performance out of Rydon Montgomery, who scored a run while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Montgomery also put up a hit, which was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Carter Blaisdell, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-4.
Malad always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .585. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Glenns Ferry only posted an OBP of .368.
Meanwhile, Lighthouse Christian scored the most runs they've had this season on Friday, but it wasn't enough. They fell just short of Idaho City by a score of 25-24. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Wednesday (20), the Lions still had to take the loss.
Like Malad, Lighthouse Christian also got a great game from a two-way player: Brennan Ford. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. Ford was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his six plate appearances.
In other batting news, Berkley Hills stepped up to lead a balanced group of hitters: he scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Xander Ramirez was another key player, scoring four runs and stealing a base while getting on base in five of his six plate appearances.
With the defeat, Lighthouse Christian broke their four-game winning streak and moved their record to 5-2. As for Malad, their victory bumped their record up to 7-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Malad has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lighthouse Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Malad's way against Lighthouse Christian when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Malad made off with a 21-0 win. Will the Dragons repeat their success, or do the Lions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
