The Prescott Cardinal baseball team picked up a huge non-conference victory over the weekend, defeating #7 ranked Elk Mound by a score of 6-2. Prescott scored twice in the first and four times in the third as the Cardinals continued to build their resume for the fast-approaching WIAA Division 3 tournament seeding meeting. In game two of the Prescott Invitational, the Cardinals hammered Ashland by a score of 14-4. This week will be the battle for first place in the Middle Border Conference when the Cardinals clash with conference rival Altoona. Additionally, this weekend they will head south to play Wisconsin Dells, the #15 ranked team in Division 2, in a Saturday doubleheader. 

After the victory over Elk Mound expect Head Coach Brad Matzek and his charges to crack the top 15 in this week’s Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Division 3 State Rankings. 

Heading into the final week of the Middle Border Conference season, Izzy Thoen leads the conference with an impressive batting average of .518. The right-handed hitting junior leads the Cardinals in hits, runs batted in, and is tied for the team lead in runs scored. Senior infielder Cadyn Hillebrand is also putting up impressive offensive numbers this season and is hitting .442 in Middle Border Conference play. The Cardinals wrap up the conference regular season with a home and away series with Altoona. The softball tournament seeding meeting for the fast-approaching post season begin this week. 

Over the past two weekends several Prescott High School athletes recently earned all-conference accolades at the collegiate level in track and field. Carthage junior heptathlete Addison Huppert earned all-conference honors two weekends ago at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Outdoor Championships in Milwaukee. Sophomore Ava Budworth did the same when she anchored the 4x400 relay team to a fourth-place finish in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Conference meet two weekends ago at UW-La Crosse. Freshmen UW-Superior distance runner Jayde Canfield finished third in the steeple chase and fifth in the 5,000 meters to earn Upper Midwest Athletic All Conference honors. Additionally, senior distance runner Madison Matzek finished third in the steeple chase and eighth in the 5,000 meters as the Mavericks of Minnesota State (Mankato) captured their fifth consecutive Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Outdoor Championship. 

Lefthander Cole Platson struck out nine hitters and picked up a complete game victory as the Prescott Pirates opened the 2026 season with an 8-2 win over Plum City. Phil Seifert led the offensive charge with three hits while Brady Block and Barrett Temmers each had two hits. The Pirates are back in action this Saturday when they host the Bay City Bombers at Firehall Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. 

Platson, a 2025 Prescott alumnus, just finished his first season playing baseball at Dakota County Junior College. Joaquin Magee, another 2025 Cardinal baseball alum, finished his inaugural season at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minn., where he led the team in stolen bases and finished among the club leaders in runs scored, walks, and on base percentage. 

Despite losing to UW-River Falls in the opening game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, the UW-Whitewater Warhawks won four consecutive games to claim the tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division 3 National Tournament bid. The defending national champion Warhawks will enter postseason play with an overall record of 41-4. 

Headshaker of the week. When it comes to high school athletics, athletes are expected to stay on the bench, in the dugout, or on the sidelines until the competition is over. Of course, injuries, illnesses and family emergencies happen and sometimes athletes legitimately need to leave early. But lately, a troubling trend has surfaced at some track and field meets - athletes asking to leave before the meet is even finished. Perhaps even more remarkable is some coaches are allowing it. Wow. Imagine a basketball player walking over to the bench midway through the second half and asking if they can head home early. Picture softball players deciding after the fifth inning to leave because they got something else going on. It wouldn’t happen. Teammates would notice. Coaches would notice. Fans would certainly notice. Yet somehow, at track meets, some athletes think it’s acceptable to pack up and leave while teammates are still competing and points are still being earned. Track and field is still a team sport. Supporting teammates matters. Being present matters. Finishing what you started matters. To be clear, Prescott track and field coaches are not part of this tomfoolery. But elsewhere, it’s happening. Leaving a meet before the final event is complete and before your teammates are done competing? Now that’s a headshaker.