By Reagan Hoverman

The Prescott High School softball team suffered its most devastating loss of the season, an 8 7 defeat at home against the Blackhawks of Baldwin Woodville in the Division 3 sectional semi final on Tues day, May 31.

Prescott’s 2022 roster and coaching staff, which con tained one of its most talented groups of student athletes in school history, felt that this season was going to be the year it got over the hump and claimed a state championship. Instead, Baldwin Woodville ended Prescott’s hopes in the sectional semi final in dra

matic fashion.

Baldwin Woodville wasted no time jumping out to a 2 0 lead in the hostile Prescott en vironment. Things continued to go the Blackhawks’ way when senior ace pitcher Mor

gan Smetana tallied a three up, three down inning against the top of Prescott’s order.

Prescott’s ace, junior Tay lor Graf, began getting dialed in during the top of the second inning when she produced a three up, three down frame to answer that of Smetana. In the bottom of the second inning, senior Maddie Miller got the offense going with a single to shallow center field.

Two batters later, junior Addie Raebel reached on an errant throw to first base. Three batters later, senior Fin ley Magee hit an RBI single to right field to make it a 2 1 game. Freshman catcher Leah French stepped up to the plate in the next at bat and drove another RBI single to right field to tie the game 2 2.

Prescott remained in prime scoring position when junior Izzy Matzek hit a ball to shal low center field. Prescott coach Nick Johnson waved the runner around and sent her home. Baldwin Woodville made a relay throw into a bang bang play at the plate.

The runner appeared to be safe but the umpire behind the dish called her out. Coach Johnson immediately ran down the third base line to argue with the call, as it ap peared the runner was well under the tag. The call not only prevented Prescott from taking a 3 2 lead but also com

pletely changed the momen

tum of the game.

Baldwin Woodville pro ceeded to break the game open in the top of the third inning. With two runners on base and two outs, Blackhawks sopho more Ryeah Oehlke blasted a ball deep over the center field fence for a three run bomb to take a commanding 5 2 lead over Prescott. Coach Johnson spoke about that play at the plate and the three run shot that completely changed the game.

“I’m biased, I thought the play at the plate, I thought she was safe,” Johnson said. “And then with one pitch, she hits a three run homer and things change.”

After going down three runs to a team that was in the Division 2 state championship game last season, Prescott could have rolled over or thrown in the towel. Instead, Johnson’s Cardinals battled their way back into the game.

The Cardinals started to whittle away the Baldwin Woodville lead by scoring a run in the bottom of the third inning to make it a 5 3 game. Both teams added a run in the fifth inning to make it a 6 4 game, still favoring the Black hawks.

Prescott added another run in the bottom of the sixth in

ning to make it a 6 5 game, but the energy in the stadium still felt as if time was running out for the Cardinals. In the top of the seventh Baldwin

Woodville added two insur

ance runs to make it an 8 5

game, putting all of the pres sure on Prescott.

Going into the bottom of the seventh inning trailing by three runs, there wasn’t much energy in the dugout. That was until senior Liz Rohl gathered the team and essentially told them that they needed to fight and that the comeback started right at that moment.

Rohl was the first to bat in the bottom of the seventh and she wasted no time roping a single down the left field line to get the rally started. The next batter, senior Maddie Miller stepped up to the plate and blasted a ball deep down the left field line. It appeared that it was drifting foul but at the last second, caught a piece of the foul pole making it a two run home run to make it an 8 7 game.

Suddenly the stadium was electric, fans were on their feet and the team had new life. The next batter, senior Grace Franco, hit a single down the third base line and then Raebel hit a double to center field. Coach Johnson waved Franco around as she flew past third base and headed home.

It was another play at the plate and again Prescott’s run ner was thrown out in another bang bang play. The next two

Prescott batters flew out to end the game in an 8 7 loss. The Cardinals’ seventh inning rally came up just short. John son spoke about that last play.

“Hindsight is 20 20, I’m sure everyone here is going to talk about it, obviously it was the wrong decision and that’s on me,” Johnson said. “You’ve got Grace (Franco) who is a very good baserun ner, a fast baserunner and you’re forcing them to make two good plays and they did. Looking back, it was the wrong decision – that one is going to haunt me for a long time.”

If Johnson would have held Franco at third, the next bat ter’s fly ball to center field would have scored Franco from third via sac fly. Johnson took the blame for the way the game ended. However, any coach in their right mind would have sent Franco in that situation and forced Baldwin Woodville to make a play.

The three biggest moments in that game: the controversial play at the plate in the bottom of the second inning, the three run home run in the top of the third, and the rally in the seventh inning culminated in a heartbreaking Prescott loss.

“I’m just heartbroken for the girls,” Johnson said after the game. “Our girls, our six seniors, it’s such a great group of girls. As good as they are at softball, they’re even better people. It’s going to be so hard to say goodbye to them. What they’ve done for this program and this town, that’s what hurts the most. To be so close and to lose such a battle – that was a heavyweight battle.”

Johnson didn’t mince words when speaking about the importance of this game. Not just in the race for a spot in the sectional final game a few days later, but how both Prescott and Baldwin Woodville built rosters more than capable of winning a state championship this sea

son.

“I really believe that poten tially is a state championship game with how good each program is,” Johnson said. “We found ways to bounce back all year and correct and learn from mistakes. We fi nally got everything going in the right direction and we had so much momentum. We had so much confidence – it hurts.”

After the game ended, Johnson began reflecting on the season. Even though it ended painfully, he said that it was still a successful year for his softball program.

“We won a conference championship, and we don’t have many Middle Border Conference championships, to split with a team like Baldwin Woodville, a team that was D2 runner up, it was a great year,” Johnson said. “We overcame a lot of internal things this year. Not everything wasn’t smooth sailing this season.”

Through all the trials and tribulations, Johnson’s Cardi

nals battled, overcame adver sity and had a successful season. He spoke about the outgoing group of seniors that are one of the most talented in program history.

“One of the greatest groups of athletes and people I’ve ever coached or been around,” Johnson said. “They made coming to the ballpark fun, bus rides were fun, everything you enjoyed being around them. I can’t even envision going on without those six. That’s what hurts the most – saying goodbye to those sen iors. They leave quite the legacy.”

The legacy of those seniors includes two state tourna

ments, a state runner up, con ference championships, regional championships and fingerprints on a program that is forever changed for the bet ter because of their success.

“It’s an unbelievable group and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye,” Johnson said.

Prescott senior Finley Magee stands in the box during the Cardinals’ home game against BaldwinWoodville in the Division 3 sectional semifinal on Tuesday, May 31. Magee is one of six Prescott seniors who leave a hugely positive stamp on the Cardinals’ program. Photoby Reagan Hoverman