The stakes for an already contentious baseball rivalry in Pierce County got even higher when the WIAA released this year’s official Division 2 postseason bracket.

The Prescott and Ellsworth High School baseball programs, which split the annual season series as each team successfully defended home field, will square off in a rubber match in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs in Prescott on Thursday, May 25.

Prescott routed Ellsworth 11-1 in the first game of the season series at Fire Hall Field on Tuesday, May 16. Two days later, Ellsworth scored a thrilling 6-5 walk-off win in 10 innings to split the series.

Given the fact that playing on home turf has already proven to be advantageous, especially between these two rival programs, Prescott hosting at Fire Hall Field could be a deciding factor in the upcoming regional quarterfinal contest.

Prescott’s chances of hosting a playoff game appeared bleak going into the final 10 days of the regular season. The Cardinals entered that first rivalry matchup against Ellsworth on Tuesday night 6-11 overall, while the Panthers boasted a 9-6 record for the season.

However, the annual postseason seeding meeting, which is still done by coaches, was scheduled for the following evening on May 17. Because head-to-head results are crucial in determining seeding, it meant that Tuesday night’s winner would likely get home-field advantage for the first round of the postseason.

Given that conglomerate of circumstances, a lot was riding on that game at Fire Hall Field. For Ellsworth head coach Brandon Voelker, it meant everything because of those playoff implications.

“In my eyes, the only game that means anything is against Prescott before that seeding meeting,” Voelker said the day before the game. “We’re going to go after the win and let the chips fall where they may. That means all pitchers are on deck to try and get a win.”

Ellsworth jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when sophomore Nolan Kummer ripped an RBI single into shallow left field. The Panthers maintained their one-run advantage until Prescott’s offense exploded in the bottom of the second inning.

The Cardinals began the second frame with three singles which tied the game 1-1. That’s when senior catcher Tucker Lansing put down a perfectly placed bunt. Instead of throwing to first, Ellsworth’s pitcher threw to third trying to get the lead runner and sailed it over his teammate’s head which led to another Prescott run and a 2-1 lead.

The Panthers compounded the mistake with a passed ball, a walk, a balk and several base hits that eventually ballooned Prescott’s lead into a 7-1 advantage when the second inning finally ended.

“We made a dumb play by going to third on a bunt where we never had a chance,” Voelker said. “We let that compile into a walk, a balk, a passed ball and we just took ourselves out of the game pretty dang quick.”

While Ellsworth made its share of mistakes in that second inning, the Cardinals scored a majority of their runs off of hits. Long-time Prescott head coach Jeff Ryan spoke about his team breaking the game open by batting around the order in that second inning.

“The floodgates opened when Tucker put down a perfect sacrifice bunt,” Ryan said. “That was kind of what did it. You’ve got to execute the short game both offensively and defensively. That is what’s so important as we get into the second part of our season with the tournament.”

The Cardinals added four runs in the ensuing three innings to secure the 11-1 victory. Prescott’s dominant win, which took just five frames because of the 10-run rule, improved its overall record to 7-11 while Ellsworth slipped to 9-7.

“There is no question that this win will help (with seeding),” Ryan said. “We’re hoping that we can get a home game. Yeah, we’re 7-11, but I’d put our schedule up against anybody. I think we have a chance to host a playoff game.”

Prescott’s schedule is unquestionably among the toughest in the state. Through 18 games this season, the Cardinals have played 11 games against teams ranked top-25. Two of them were against Saint Croix Falls and Eau Claire Regis, both of which are ranked No. 1, according to the latest Wissports.com coaches’ poll and MaxPreps baseball data.

The day after Prescott’s 11-1 win over Ellsworth, the playoff-seeding entity rewarded the Cardinals for their head-to-head win over the Panthers and the grueling schedule that they played throughout the season.

The eighth-seeded Prescott Cardinals will host the ninth-seeded Ellsworth Panthers in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs on Thursday, May 25. The first pitch for that contest is slated for 5 p.m.