C3Q1 SB: Malden starts strong, falters late in front of Green Wave throng

MALDEN – There were early signs leading through the town of Malden that Tuesday was a special day for the Green Wave softball program.

The roads leading to the high school were lined with signs wishing the hometown team the best of luck, the same could be said of the businesses, many of whom hung banners and had their digital signs reading “Go Green Wave!”

And the overflowing crowd at the diamond had the highest of hopes for Malden in its quest to upset West County in the MSHSAA Class 3 Quarterfinal 1 battle.

“I am really thankful for all of the parents,” first-year Malden coach Kyle Jones said, ‘and all of the people who showed up today. In female athletics, you don’t get (many) crowds like this.

“I really appreciate it and I am so happy for these girls that they got to experience people coming and cheering them on, especially in this fashion. They were loud. I just hate that it ended the way that it did.”

That was the overriding negative to the magnificent atmosphere and day.

West County showed its dominance by crushing seven home runs and winning 13-3 in five innings.

The Green Wave (17-11), who have won seven District titles in the past nine seasons, played the Bulldogs (23-3) very tough early on.

Green Wave junior lead-off hitter Kinley Buchanan opened the afternoon by drawing a walk before moving up a base on a passed ball.

She came home on an RBI double by senior Rachel Rommel to put Malden up 1-0.

West County answered with three runs in the bottom of that inning, but the Green Wave came back with a run in the third – again, courtesy of an RBI hit from Rommel, which scored Mariah Loya, to pull to within 3-2.

Again, the Bulldogs came back with more offense, as they took a 5-2 lead in the third inning.

But again, Malden wouldn’t go away.

Freshman Alyssa Broom reached on a single before classmate Lexis Malone pinch-ran for her.

Malone stole second and then advanced to third base on a passed ball before Broom replaced Malone on third base.

Broom then came home for a 5-3 margin on a passed ball.

“We are resilient,” Jones said. “We were the four-seed in the District and we came out and played our butts off and won it.”

The Bulldogs added a couple of runs in the fourth and six more in the fifth to seal the win.

As usual, Rommel led her team both offensively and defensively as a catcher.

At the plate, she totaled two hits and drove in a pair of runs.

Buchanan added a run and two walks, while Loya (one run, two walks), Brydon Maddox (one walk), Broom (one run, one hit, one walk), and Lachia Reid (one walk) also contributed.

Broom threw all four innings and allowed 11 earned runs on 15 hits while walking four and striking out three.

The 17 victories by Malden this spring were the most since 2019 and gave the program its ninth consecutive winning season.

“We have nothing to be ashamed about or to hang our heads about,” Jones said. “We should be proud of what we did this year.”