Congratulations to Head Coach Nick Johnson and the girls’ softball team on earning a share of the Middle Border Conference Championship. The Cardinals earned the #2 seed in the WIAA Regional and are on a collision course with #1 seed Baldwin-Woodville in the sectional semi-final on Tuesday, May 30.  

Bravo to Prescott sophomore golfer Tyler Reiter on being named Middle Border All Conference. The talented sophomore will compete in the WIAA Division 2 Regional this week at Krooked Creek in Osceola with a chance to advance to sectionals. 

The Prescott Cardinals will host the Ellsworth Panthers in the opening round of the WIAA Tournament this Thursday. The Panthers and the Cardinals split their regular season games last week. Over the years both teams have played some memorable tournament games. The best being a 13-inning regional championship game won by the Cardinals by a score of 6-4. Other heart-stopping postseason contests include tournament games in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018. Expect another good one this week. 

The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association has announced the rosters for the annual All Star Classic Games in Oshkosh on June 30 and July 1. The top 72 seniors in the state will play three games over the two-day period. Area selections for the West team include several Prescott opponents this spring including Eli Condon of River Falls, Brayden Olson of St. Croix Falls, Cole Selvig of Eau Claire Regis, and Chris Calico of West Salem. Somerset Head Coach Zach Eichten has been selected to serve as one of the coaches for the West team. The most recent Prescott player chosen to play in the prestigious game was 2018 grad Peter Brookshaw. 

Peter Brookshaw wrapped up his final regular season game going 2-5 against the South Dakota State on Saturday as North Dakota bested the Jackrabbits by a score of 12-9. This Thursday the Bison will host the Summit League Tournament with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. North Dakota State finished with a league record of 16-7 and received the #2 seed in the conference tournament. The Bison will play #3 seed South Dakota State. Number one seed Oral Roberts (23-1, 43-11) will play #4 seed Omaha. North Dakota State handed Oral Roberts its own Summit League loss during the season. The last time the Bison qualified for the NCAA Tournament was in 2021.  

The Prescott Pirates opened their season on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Osceola. 

UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point both advanced to this week's NCAA Division III Baseball Super Regional. La Crosse advanced by beating Bethel University by a score of 4-3 on Sunday and Steven Points advanced with an 11-5 victory over Webster University (Missouri). The Pointers and Eagles will play in a best of three series for the right to advance to the eight-team NCAA Division III National Tournament next week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Headshaker of the week: The Oxford Dictionary defines uniform as “the distinctive clothing worn by members of the same organization or body or by children attending certain schools; attire remaining the same in all cases and at all times; unchanging in form or character.” Uniforms foster identity, pride, and unity. However, at all levels it appears at times all players on the court or on the field “sport” their own uniform trappings. Shooting sleeves, headbands, wrist bands, knee pads, elbow pads, jewelry, eye black, taped wrists, compression shorts, compression shirts, multi-colored shoes, visible stirrups, hidden stirrups, sunglasses, flat brimmed baseball caps, curved baseball caps, kinesio tape, low socks, high socks, mid-calf socks and on and on. It’s becoming more and more standard that today’s athletes are beginning to chuck the importance of the team uniform and embracing an individualized approach to game attire. For this 20th century sports reactionary, it’s a headshaker.