By Reagan Hoverman

On Friday, March 25, the players, coaches, friends and family of the 2012 Prescott Cardinals baseball team gathered together at The Old Ptacek’s Event Center in Prescott to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that infamous state championship in June of 2012.

There is no question as to why such a large group of people wanted to gather again and celebrate the 2012 team. That iteration of the Prescott Cardinals is one of the best teams to have ever played in western Wisconsin.

Under the direction of head coach Jeff Ryan, Prescott finished the year with a 26-2 record, a .362 team batting average, a 2.12 team earned run average (ERA) and a gold ball after the Cardinals defeated Parkview 4-3 in the state championship game at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton.

During that 2012 season, Prescott finished 14-0 in the Middle Border Conference and as undisputed conference champions. While that’s impressive, perhaps nothing is more outstanding than the +200-run differential that the Cardinals posted that season with only 23 total errors.

The celebration of that historically great Prescott team included nearly a dozen speakers who addressed the crowd, trivia for guests about that 2012 team, as well as a buffet-style dinner for all to enjoy.

One of the first speakers of the night was Nick Tuckner, a lifelong resident of Hastings, Minn., who spent time calling Prescott Cardinals baseball games and all things Hastings Raiders sports for the better part of 20 years for KDWA.

While there were many aspects of that 2012 championship team that stood out to Tuckner, nothing to him was more important to that team than its cohesion and its ability to stay calm under pressure and overcome adversity.

“For these guys to fall behind early in that first game and to not panic and come right back and show they were in it for the long haul, I think that sent a message,” Tuckner said at the podium on Friday night. “You guys stuck together and that’s something that not many teams have – that cohesion, that broth-

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erhood, you guys had that. When you got going in the playoffs, it all came together. You guys hoisting that gold ball, that’s one of the best memories I’ll take from 20 years of broadcasting.”

As Tuckner spoke, he recalled moments from that special season and he spoke about how the players, coaches, friends and family of that team made him feel as if he were truly part of that program. Once Tuckner was done speaking, several more speakers were introduced, including WIAA Official Dan Hoffman, who has served as an umpire for western Wisconsin baseball games for the last 44 years.

While Tuckner provided the point of view from the broadcast booth, Hoffman spoke about what it was like to be behind the plate for some of the Prescott games during the 2012 season.

“That team stands out in my mind, first of all, because they were extremely good baseball players,” Hoffman said. “It’s a credit to Jeff (Ryan) and the staff, Prescott teams always play baseball the right way, and umpires certainly appreciate the game being played the right way.”

Hoffman went on to explain that every Prescott player from that team hustled between innings, helped where needed, never complained and played hard the whole game. He spoke about that team.

“I can’t remember any player from that team complaining,” Hoffman said. “They went and played the game as hard as they could and played it very well. That’s extremely appreciated by umpires.”

The respect between that Prescott team and the regular crew of umpires working Middle Border Conference games at that time was always noticed and appreciated, according to Hoffman. Once he was done at the podium, the next speaker was Amery head coach Jeremiah Fisk.

“I want to give the perspective of an opposing head coach,” Fisk said. “Hitting a round object at a high rate of speed with a round object is probably the most difficult thing to do in all of sports. Every single Prescott team, especially the 2012 team, makes it look easy. A credit to you guys and especially that 2012 team.”

Fisk provided an anecdote about how every year before the season begins, he receives a questionnaire from various media outlets that asks for a small season preview and a list of teams that he believes is going to be at the top of the conference for the year.

“Osceola is typically in the 2-4 range, Ellsworth lately has been kind of low, but every single year, Prescott is number one on my list,” Fisk said. “They are always (number one) because they are excellent every year. In 2012, I just put Prescott. I didn’t even put another team on the list.”

Fisk stated that since he began coaching at Amery, he’s learned a lot from coach Ryan, but there is one thing that has never changed, he hates going to play at Fire Hall Field.

“I hate going to Fire Hall Field, hate it, I hate watching Prescott ins-and-outs,” Fisk said trying to hold back his laughter at the podium. “I hate the way they battle at the plate. I can’t stand it. Why do I hate those things? Because I totally respect the way (Prescott baseball) does everything. I try to emulate that as much as I possibly can.”

The nearly two-hour event consisted of speakers that provided anecdotes – some serious, some funny – about how great the Prescott baseball program is and how dominant that 2012 season was specifically.

As the evening began coming to a close, the penultimate speaker was the aforementioned Ryan, who has been coaching Prescott baseball for over two decades. He spoke about the speakers who went before him and he spoke about how special that 2012 team was – and still is – to him.

“I like to talk about alumni a lot,” Ryan said. “I guarantee every one of you guys have been talked about for the right reason. I think it’s important for you guys to remember. It’s not that this is something that happened 10 years ago, everyone remembers it, and I use them as teaching moments.”

Ryan spoke about how that specific team has shaped the way he coaches players now and how he uses what they did that season as a template. Yes, that was only one season. However, it’s a season that has shaped Prescott baseball ever since they brought that gold ball back to Prescott.

“All of the things that you guys did, you’ve enabled me to use as a template,” Ryan said. “You made me a better coach, there is no question. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to coach you guys.”

As Ryan began his closing comments, he spoke about how great baseball is important, but he’s more focused on making sure his players are good human beings when they leave his program.

“Athletics teaches us how to win, how to lose, how to be good human beings, how to be thankful and it teaches us respect,” Ryan said. “That’s one of the things that we as a coaching staff tried to hammer home, the importance of treating other people with respect. I’m so proud of you guys and I think about you guys a lot. Thanks for everything.”

Once Ryan was done with his comments, two of the players took to the podium to provide some closing thoughts about that team and what made it special. The two players that spoke were Billy Brookshaw and Derrick Munsen.

“We want to say thank you to everyone for coming tonight,” Brookshaw said. “It’s great to see everyone. Looking back, we spent a lot of time together which was invaluable. Some of us are married, some have kids, and tonight is a chance to relive some of those memories from that special year.”

When Brookshaw was done speaking, Munsen took to the microphone to provide some of his thoughts about the group of players and that season from a decade ago.

“The first thing that comes to mind with this whole group is family, it’s always been that way,” Munsen said. “I remember way back when we were younger, people would say that this group could really do something. In 2012, we put it all together. It wasn’t just us seniors, it was everyone here. Thanks to everyone for coming out, it’s been a great time.”

Prescott head coach Jeff Ryan spoke about some of his favorite memories from that 2012 season and how they were not only great ballplayers but great human beings. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

The players and coaches from the 2012 Prescott Cardinals state championship team came together nearly a decade later to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the victory. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

A sizeable group of players, coaches, friends and family gathered Friday at The Old Ptacek’s Event Center in Prescott to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2012 state championship baseball team. Photo by Reagan Hoverman