FALL CREEK — No sales pitch was needed to fill the seats Thursday for a Sectional matchup between Prescott and Fall Creek. The Crickets were 2024 Division Four State Champions and have not lost a conference game since May 12, 2022 (a 41-game conference winning streak). In the other dugout, Prescott was looking to defend the Division Three State Championship, entering the game having won 10 of its previous 11 games.

The game lived up to the hype with clean play all around, and Fall Creek delivered a fifth inning blow for a 2-1 win.

“Coming in as a defending champ, that’s a lot of pressure. Our kids were up for it, though,” Head Coach Nick Johnson said. “We have nothing not to hold our heads high [about]. We battled and we lost to a really good team.”

The Crickets struck out the first three Cardinal batters of the game, carrying the momentum into the bottom of the inning with an opposite field single to drive in the game’s first run. In the fourth, Prescott struck back with one big swing as senior Rory Zuehlsdorf parked the ball over the fence to tie the game. Zuehlsdorf also pitched for Prescott, tossing six innings of two-run ball. It was her first year of pitching since eighth grade, and she impressed all year long, finishing the year with a 2.15 earned run average in 71 innings.

“That’s just kind of what she does,” Johnson said. “She’s such a competitor. What she’s accomplished and done this year as a pitcher, not throwing since eighth grade, and coming in and throwing in big games… you’ve got to kind of take a step back and appreciate what she’s done this year.”

Both schools battled into the late innings. Fall Creek strung together a double, a bunt and a single to get the lead back that the strong pitching and defense would not cough up. Prescott was held to three hits on the day.

After some tough losses in the middle of the season, Johnson said the girls dug deep to maximize their potential.

“It just kind of sums up our team. We just never backed down this whole season,” Johnson said. “It’s really hard to put into words what this team means to us.”

The Cardinal senior class is made up of Jeanne Rohl, Leah French, Zuehlsdorf, Kelsey Sterud, Maria Mercord and Lydia Feran. Prescott’s seniors have been through a State title and four Sectional trips over four years.

“Oh my goodness, six amazing girls that I’ve been fortunate enough to coach,” Johnson said. “They’re such a tight group. The practices we’ve had, the bus trips, that’s the things we’re going to remember the most.”

The Cardinals finished the year 21-7 overall and 11-3 in conference.