Peter Brookshaw hit his 11th home run of the season on Saturday and the North Dakota State Bison swept a three-game series with Western Illinois last weekend to improve to 10-5 in Summit League play. The Bison outscored the Leathernecks 33-6 in the three-game shellacking. North Dakota State will play at Nebraska this Wednesday and return to Summit League play over the weekend in Greeley, Colo. to take on the Northern Colorado Bears in a three set. Brookshaw enters the week hitting .315 on the season and leads the Bison in several offensive categories.

Last weekend Prescott junior Lila Posthuma received a basketball scholarship offer from NCAA Division I Bradley University. A three-year letterwinner, the 6’2 Posthuma will enter her senior season with 814 career points and 520 rebounds and has helped the Cardinals win three consecutive conference championships. Bradley University is a member of the 12-school Missouri Valley Conference. 

No doubt Wisconsin anglers are chomping at the bit as the 2023 fishing opener commences this weekend. After a long season of snow, area Wisconsin fisherfolk will be wetting lines for trout in the streams of the Rush, Trimbelle, and Kinnickinnic rivers. Walleye enthusiasts will hit the Mississippi River or travel north to try their luck at Butternut, Balsam, Cedar, and Half Moon lakes in Polk County. Best of luck to everyone this weekend. And remember trout anglers, don’t leave your empty Walt’s Crawlers containers along the riverbank. 

Approximately 100 youngsters participated in Saturday’s free youth baseball clinic at Firehall Field. All participants received a free clinic T-shirt and lunch courtesy of the high school baseball team. Hats off to the handful of parents who volunteered their time to help out at the clinic. If you are interested in clinic pictures you can contact Jeff Ryan at the high school. 

From the WIAA: The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association approved a much-deliberated competitive balance proposal and conducted other membership business at the 127th Annual Meeting at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Stevens Point. After a presentation by Jordan Sinz and Michelle Guyant-Holloway, co-chairs of the Competitive Balance Task Force, the membership voted 265-115 to approve the Competitive Balance Plan intended to help ensure all members feel their school has an opportunity to be competitive in the Tournament Series. The plan, to be implemented in 2024-25, promotes school programs that reach a threshold of tournament success based on a performance point system allocated over a three-year period. School programs will be placed in the division with the next largest enrollments from where the schools’ enrollment would typically place them for each respective sport – other than track & field and swimming & diving. Schools will be restricted to moving up only one division from the previous year’s placement. The plan affords schools the process to appeal their placement if they are moved up a division as well as an option to petition to be placed in a lower division in all sports except football and the sports not impacted by the point system. Complete details of the Competitive Balance Plan are available on the Competitive Balance homepage of the WIAA website. Prescott Athletic Director Andrew Caudill voted against the proposal. 

Longtime local softball and baseball fans were talking recently about the evolution of both sports over the last 60 years. After World War II, it was town team baseball with the likes of local heroes “Porky” Eichman and the Eggers boys wowing area fans with their box score exploits that entertained hundreds of area fans. Strong 4H chapters fielded very competitive and popular youth softball teams and leagues. Men’s fastpitch softball, with the help of legends like Eddie Feigner - The King and His Court - became a popular weekend activity. However, by the mid 1970’s, men’s slowpitch softball leagues began to supplant baseball. The easy-to-play activity became wildly popular with champions crowned seemingly every weekend for both play and beer drinking. Thankfully, by the 1990’s softball shorts and uniform matching wristbands began to fade away and amateur baseball experienced a welcome resurgence. Today, only a handful of men’s fast pitch/slow pitch leagues exist in the state of Wisconsin. The rekindling of town team baseball has brought America’s past time back to scores of places, including the Norman Rockwell-like locations of Brill, Plum City, Bay City, Jim Falls, Haugen, Tony, and Tilden. Although many small Wisconsin towns have lost the hustle and bustle of a half century ago, amateur baseball, at least for now, appears to be in good shape. Thank goodness.

Headshaker of the Week: Last week the Prescott High School baseball team played at Cinder City Park, the four-field baseball/softball facility in Altoona. While the Cardinal Varsity and JV games were going on, the Altoona softball varsity team was hosting St. Croix Central and both varsity games utilized their respective PA systems. Since both fields are within an earshot of each other, players and fans at their respective field heard two renditions of the national anthem, the announced names of each player as they stepped to the plate, and the hoe down, rap, and rock music played between innings. I have heard of a “battle of the bands,” but never a battle of public address systems. It was a headshaker.