Despite losing six impactful seniors from last year’s Middle Border Conference champion Cardinals team, internal expectations remain as high as ever in Prescott.

For head coach Nick Johnson, rolling over and folding because some of the better players in program history graduated just isn’t an option. Instead, it’s a chance for high-potential underclassmen to elevate and continue a winning tradition established by former players.

“We still feel we’re going to be very good,” Johnson said. “We lost six seniors who were huge contributors last year. They had huge roles, but we feel strongly about the younger kids we have. We’re not packing our bags and we’re not giving up, but kids need to step up defensively and at the plate. I think we have a ton of potential.”

The young potential on this year’s roster was supposed to be supplementary to returning veterans headlined by senior pitcher Taylor Graff, who was Second-Team All-State last season as selected by the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association.

Graff has been Prescott’s ace for the last two seasons and was slated to be one of the 10 best pitchers in the state this year until she was diagnosed with a hip injury that will all but prevent her from being in the circle this season.

“She is done for the year as a pitcher, but she’s still going to play as a position player and as a hitter,” Johnson said. “She’s had a hip issue since November and the MRIs have shown that she has bone growth that needs surgery. The bottom line is she won’t pitch this year.”

Graff was Prescott’s dominant pitcher last season and was the driving force for a Cardinals team that went 19-7 and won its first Middle Border Conference championship since 2018. She started 25 games and compiled an 18-7 record that included seven shutout victories last year.

During that All-State junior season, Graff pitched 148 innings and struck out 168 batters while walking just 19 en route to posting a 1.84 ERA. She pitched complete games in 17 of her 25 starts.

“That’s a huge blow to us when you take an All-State pitcher off of the team,” Johnson said. “She would have been a three-year starter and now it’s a huge hole to fill. Coming into the season we had expectations of playing in a state tournament and we thought we’d have our whole team to do that, but we still feel we’re going to be very good.”

With Graff unable to pitch this season, Prescott will turn to senior Madison Hildebrandt, who has been the Cardinals’ number two in the rotation for more than a year. Last season, Hildebrandt started one game, pitched in four and tallied 10 innings in the circle. She walked seven batters, struck out eight and posted an ERA of 2.80.

“Madison was our second option last year, but we didn’t really use her because Taylor was so good,” Johnson said. “She’s capable and she throws strikes, but she’s going to have to work extremely hard because she doesn’t have that experience. This first month of the season will be huge for her.”

Prescott will also look to Gabbi Matzek and Ella Stewart – who enter their sophomore and junior campaigns respectively – to bring stability to the uncertainty surrounding Prescott’s pitching staff going into opening day.

Because of Prescott’s senior-laden roster last season, both Matzek and Stewart spent the season refining and developing their skills on the junior varsity roster. Now, they’re both going to serve as potentially integral players on a Cardinals team with lofty expectations.

Matzek comes from a lineage of Cardinals aces, as her older sister Sydney Matzek, who graduated in 2021, was a distinguished player who pitched in multiple state tournaments for Prescott.

With Graff injured, Hildebrandt, Matzek and Stewart are Prescott’s only three pitchers on the roster. Coach Johnson spoke about the state of the pitching staff.

“We’ve got to get those three girls ready,” Johnson said. “It could be a committee thing or it could be an open competition for who’s going to win this job. The biggest thing is being able to throw strikes and not walk people to keep us in games.”

While the Cardinals’ pitching staff is shrouded in uncertainty, the lineup and position players have all but been solidified. Prescott returns several players from last year including seniors Izzy Matzek, Maddie Reiter, Addie Raebel, Rebecca Heinze and several valuable underclassmen.

Izzy Matzek and sophomore Leah French headline the returners, as both received All-Conference honors in the Middle Border last season. Coach Johnson spoke about some of his team’s returning talent.

“Izzy is back as a three-year starter and we’re going to ask a lot of her as a player and leader,” Johnson said. “Addie is the leader of our outfield and is capable of being a First-Team All-Conference player and Rebecca Heinze is too. Leah is only a sophomore but she needs to step up as a leader because she’s so respected. I think we’ll be just fine with leadership this year.”

Prescott goes into the 2023 season with hopes of repeating as Middle Border Conference champions, a title they shared last season with Baldwin-Woodville.

The Middle Border remains one of the most competitive conferences in the state. Of the eight teams in the conference, four went to a sectional in their respective bracket last season. Those teams included Prescott, Ellsworth, Altoona and Baldwin-Woodville.

“The conference is going to be extremely strong,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be a fight for that one or two at the top of the conference. I think it’s going to be the kind of year where if you don’t play well, you can get beat on any given night. It should be an exciting year.”

Prescott has already begun practice for the season and has its opening day contest at home against New Richmond scheduled for Tuesday, March 28. Weather permitting, that game would begin at 4:30 p.m.