As expected, the Prescott Cardinal softball team garnered the #1 seed in the fast-approaching WIAA Division 3 Tournament. The Cardinals will take on the winner of the game between #9 seed Neillsville-Granton vs. #8 Nekoosa. La Crosse Aquinas received the #2 seed in the Prescott side of the sectional bracket. In the other half of the sectional, Northwestern grabbed the top seed and Spooner the #2. 

The Cardinal softball team finishes the regular season with three games on the road. A tough Middle Border Conference schedule coupled with an impressive list of strong non-conference opponents made Prescott the #1 seed in the tournament. 

From the WIAA: Beginning with the 2024-25 season, high school wrestlers will be inbounds with only one point of contact of either wrestler inside or on the boundary line. Previously, high school wrestlers were considered to be inbounds if a total of two supporting points of either wrestler were inside or on the boundary line. The two supporting points could be two supporting points of one wrestler or one supporting point of each wrestler inside or on the boundary line. In addition to the “one point of contact” change, points awarded for a near-fall have been revised in high school wrestling. Two points will be awarded when near-fall criteria are held for two seconds, three points for three seconds, four points for four seconds and five points if the defensive wrestler is injured, indicates an injury or bleeding occurs after the four-point near-fall has been earned. A complete listing of the wrestling rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Wrestling.”

The Prescott Cardinal baseball team outscored Ashland and La Crosse Logan  22-1 and outhit the Oredockers and Rangers 28-12 enroute to their doubleheader sweep on  Saturday. Junior Cole Platson tossed a gem in a game against Ashland as the junior lefty struck out 10 and improved to 4-1 on the season. In game two, senior right hander Ian Leask blanked the Rangers through four innings and sophomore lefty Max Monteith tossed two plus innings of scoreless relief to preserve the shutout. At the plate Nolan Thomley finished the day 4-6, with two doubles, three runs batted in and six runs scored. Cullen Huppert went 5-8, with four runs batted in, and Mason Schommer went 4-7 to lead an impressive offensive performance for the Cardinals.

Cullen Huppert improved to 5-0 on the year in a dominating win over Baldwin-Woodville last Thursday. The WBCA All Star threw six innings, struck out nine Baldwin-Woodville hitters, and lowered his earned run average to 1.39 on the season.  The Cardinals have an impressive team ERA of 2.34 with four pitchers with an ERA below 2.00.  

The baseball team hosted a free youth baseball clinic last Friday at Firehall Field. All participants received a free T-shirt, hot dog, chips, and water courtesy of the high school baseball team. Prescott alumnus and college player Hunter Daymond also aided in on field instruction. 

Nice touch. Prescott varsity baseball players gifted game action photos to their mothers/parents on Saturday during the Invitational Tournament. Also, before the final game of the tournament players and coaches from the 1994 WIAA Division 2 State Championship were recognized. It was 30 years ago that Prescott defeated Jefferson 24-3 in the title game, becoming the first athletic team in school history to win a state championship.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out the newest Prescott history display downtown at the Welcome and Heritage Center. A strong core group of volunteers have put together an exhibit highlighting education. The exhibit is very, very impressive. 

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Baseball Tournament title with an 11-3 victory over UW-La Crosse at Prucha Field on May 11. It is the eighth tournament championship in program history and gave the Warhawks an automatic NCAA bid. UW-Whitewater will enter the NCAA Division III tournament with a record of 35-8. Many believe UW-La Crosse will receive an at large bid for the tournament that begins this coming weekend. 

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR released the 2023 fish stocking numbers for inland water bodies and the Great Lakes. The DNR raises millions of yearling and fingerling fish to stock into Wisconsin waters every year. Over 6 million fish were stocked in 2023, which helped fulfill the quotas submitted by county fisheries biologists. Stocking helps boost natural fish populations where natural reproduction can no longer support the fishery, maintain or restore existing fisheries and support recreational fishing opportunities. Stocking is also used to evaluate management actions or fish culture techniques. DNR fish crews have stocked fish in inland waters, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and their tributaries across the state in 2023.

Headshaker of the week: The upcoming WIAA Baseball Meeting on Wednesday has created a multitude of problems. First, Altoona and St. Croix Central have yet to complete a 6-6 suspended game that was played two weeks ago. Second, Baldwin-Woodville will not play Altoona until after the seeding meeting, and the same team Baldwin-Woodville would have only played St. Croix Central once. True, athletic directors and schools must plan for the fast-approaching tournaments by securing officials, but having a seeding meeting with three conference games remaining, including crucial matchups with conference title and seeding implications is misguided. Sure, hindsight is 20-20, but wouldn’t having the seeding meeting as late as possible make the greatest amount of sense. Having a seeding meeting with three conference games remaining? That’s a headshaker.