Somerset was on the menu for the Prescott baseball and softball teams. The baseball squad split with the Spartans with a 9-2 home win and 6-1 road loss. Over the weekend, the Cardinals beat Dover-Eyota 8-7 and lost to Winona Cotter 5-1.

“Our bats came alive. In the first game we hit really well, and we played really good defense for every single inning except for the fifth inning,” Coach Brad Matzek said. “In the loss against Somerset, Evan Kochendorfer pitched really well up in Somerset, and we just had a few unearned runs with some key errors in the field.”

In the 9-2 win, Brody Temmers threw five innings of one-run ball. Due to the action-packed first week, Prescott got to see seven different pitchers on the mound, showcasing some positive signs for options down the road.

“Brody Temmers pitched really well in the first game against Somerset,” Matzek said. “It was nice to see some guys throw on the mound to see who we can throw out there in the future.”

Max Montieth reached base three times in the win, Zack Matzek had three hits and batted in three runs and Griffin Westberg had three hits of his own with a walk and an RBI.

The Cardinals hit well against Dover, scoring seven runs in the first three innings. Jack Matzek had three hits and pitched an inning and two thirds to earn the save. Kochendorfer and Montieth also had two hits apiece.

Against Winona Cotter, the defense finally started to click, but the offense struggled.

“Our defense isn’t playing the way we want to right now,” Matzek said.

Looking ahead, Matzek wants to see the team cut down on the unforced errors.

“It’s just giving up free bases. Less walks and less errors in the field. If we cut down on those, we’re going to be in good shape because we’re hitting the ball pretty well.”

Softball

Prescott played five games in six days over the opening week, beating Blair-Taylor 7-1, losing to Somerset 4-3 and 12-3, and beating Northwestern 6-5 and 15-4.

The 4-3 loss was a nailbiter, but a few mistakes in the field in the top of the fifth led to a pair of Somerset runs for a 4-2 lead.

With the exception of the 12-run outing in Somerset, the pitching has been the story of the team. Ella Visger and Grace Ptacek have combined for 32 innings in the circle. Rather than starting every other game, the two have piggybacked off of each other, with one tossing the first few innings and the other closing things out.

At the dish, Cadyn Hillebrand has eight hits, Izzy Thoen seven, Quinn Unser seven and Ptacek six through five games. The most recent game was by far the best hitting performance, scoring 15 runs on 16 hits, with nine Cardinals recording a hit and seven of them having multiple.

Next up for the Cardinals is a pair against Osceola on April 14 and 16. The baseball team is also taking on Osceola on the same days.