“The playing surface looks like a golf course,” said Elk Mound Head Coach Paul Andrea. “Everyone says Firehall Field is one of the best around and when you see or play on the field you will agree.” The accolades continued. “This field is one of the best I have seen in all my years of coaching,” remarked Ashland Hall of Fame Coach Chris Kempf. “Your players and the volunteers in your community obviously take a great deal of pride in the field because I know how much work it takes to maintain one. It takes lots and lots of work.” Throughout the day Saturday, coaches, players, and spectators from the three visiting schools marveled at the playing surface. “Lots of people spend a great deal of time maintaining this field,” says Prescott volunteer Brady Randolph. “But that is what it takes to have a quality baseball diamond. The alumni get it and so do the players. They understand it’s part of tradition and pride of being a Prescott baseball player and it’s nice to hear people from other communities recognize all the hard work we do.” Head Coach Andy Ellenbecker summed it up after the final game on Saturday. “Thanks for having us. This field is just a remarkable place to play.”  

The Prescott softball team’s convincing 12-1 victory over top ranked Grantsburg turned heads all over Division 3 last Friday. Senior lefthander Rory Zuehlsdorf tossed a four-hitter and senior Leah French and junior Cadyn Hillebrand each had three hits to power the Cardinals to the impressive win. As far as the Middle Border Conference softball standings, four teams are within two games of each other entering the final week of the regular season. Somerset has a one-game lead over Baldwin-Woodville with Ellsworth and Prescott are two games back with two games to play. 

The Prescott baseball team moved into a tie for first place in the rough and tumble Middle Border Conference. The Cardinals and Altoona share the top spot with St. Croix Central and Somerset nipping at their heals with each a game out of first place. The logjam at the top of the conference entering the final two weeks is what all Middle Border baseball prognosticators predicted at the beginning of the season.  

The baseball team leaves for Dyersville, Iowa and the Field of Dreams this Friday morning. On Saturday the Cardinals will travel to Platteville to take on the Hillmen who enter the week with a record of 8-5 and are in second place in the Southwest Conference trailing first-place Dodgeville by a half game. 

The Prescott Hall of Fame nomination deadline is approaching. The selection committee is seeking nominations for possible induction into the Prescott Hall of Fame this coming October. Nomination forms and essential information is available on the Prescott School District website. Nominations are due on July 1. 

Peter Brookshaw and the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks opened the 2025 season by taking two of three from the Sioux Falls Canaries over the weekend. Brookshaw, a 2018 Prescott grad, had a torrid three-game series going 6-11 with five runs batted in. The former Cardinal baseball and basketball star is in his third season with the RedHawks, who are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball and are considered a partner league with Major League Baseball. 

Prescott alumnus Madison Matzek finished second in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase on Friday and finished fourth in the 5,000 meters on Saturday and helped the Minnesota State-Mankato women's track and field team win its fourth consecutive NSIC Outdoor Track and Field Championship Saturday at James S. Malosky Stadium at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Matzek has been racking up points all season for the Mavericks who entered last weekend as the #5 ranked team in NCAA Division 2. 

Headshaker of the Week: Diamond D1 and the Dudley SB 12 are the official baseball and softball used by the WIAA. Each box of a dozen costs $88. Typically, 5-7 baseballs and 4-5 softballs are used at each game. Poor weather could mean 10-12 baseballs or 7-10 softballs each game. Both the high school softball and baseball programs spend well over $1,000 each spring on game and practice balls. Needless to say, game balls are pricey. Recently, according to several area umpires, a parental trend has developed at high school softball and baseball games. When a player has hit a homerun, a parent retrieves the ball and refuses to put the ball back into play even after being asked to do so by umpires. Statements like “It’s my son’s/daughter’s now,” or “We’re keeping this ball!” in the same vein as a 6-year-old who refuses to share in the classroom or on the playground. I get it, Mom and Dad. It’s a big moment, but there is no reason for such a hostile response to an umpire’s request. Why not try this? After the game, approach the coach of the home team and request a game ball and donate five bucks to the team in the process. Refusing to return a game ball to an umpire when requested to do so during a game? That’s a headshaker.