Staff report

The Prescott Cardinals were flying high this past June 10, after a hard fought 2 -1 win over St. Croix Central saw them advance in WIAA Regional competition. In the meantime, Cardinals Head Coach Jeff Ryan had more to say on what went right June 10 and the Cardinal’s overall strategy for the 2021 season.

'Austin Fox threw a great game and defensively we made some big plays early on,' Ryan said of the Cardinal side, also acknowledging the St. Croix pitcher. 'Dado from Central also threw extremely well, Ryan said. “We know going in we were going to have to beat a very good pitcher and he shut us out for six innings.” With St, Croix Central making the first run from either team in the top of the fifth and still nothing for Prescott by the sixth, it looked bad for the Cardinal’s overall chances, with time fast running out—but then, there was some relief.

“Fortunately for us they had to bring in a relief pitcher and the players found a way to score in the bottom of the 7th,” Ryan said of the Prescott home team. He also showed pride in the team’s accomplishments to date.

'The team continues to get better and better each game,” Ryan said of the 2021 season. “Our hope from the beginning of the year was to have the boys playing their best baseball of the season at tournament time and I think they are getting close to doing that.' So what were some game highlights for the Cardinals?

Starting things out for Prescott, Austin Fox made 22 first pitch strikes for the Cardinals, pitching for all seven innings. With Fox and teammate Ben Rohl both getting walks, Justin Syverson made two hits in four at bats. Rohl scored on a wild pitch while a single by Syverson resulted in batting in Brady Block, who had previously advanced to second on an error by St. Croix. At the end of the seven-inning game, it was 2 – 1, with Prescott victorious.

Following their June 10 win, the Cardinals were next set to face off against Baldwin-Woodville June 15 in Baldwin, the outcome of the game unknown as of press time.