Ottertail Central edges Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale in eight innings, 4-3

Carter Knutson gave Ottertail Central the kind of start coaches hope for and rarely get to keep, doubling down the left-field line to drive in Ayden Olson and then scoring on a defensive error as the Bulldogs jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning against Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale.

That early cushion held up only until the Raiders clawed back, tied the game in the sixth and sent the opener to extra innings. Ottertail Central answered in the top of the eighth, when Kale Misegades led off by hitting a ball off the top of the left-field fence and Quenten Beske followed with the decisive swing, lining a single that brought home Misegades and pinch-runner Beck Thorson for a 4-2 lead. Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale scored once more in the bottom half, but the Bulldogs closed out a 4-3 win Friday at Long Prairie.

The victory fit the profile of an early-season test for a team that expects to be in the mix in Section 8AA again. Ryan Hendrickson was entering his 10th season as Ottertail Central’s head coach, and the Bulldogs came into 2026 after an 11-8 campaign that included a third-place finish in the Park Region Conference at 8-6 and another third-place finish in Section 8AA. The Minnesota State High School League lists Battle Lake, Henning and Underwood alongside Otter Tail Central in the section field.

What stood out most was how the Bulldogs handled the pressure on the mound. Misegades worked three innings, allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts, and Casen Leroy took over for the final five innings to earn the win. Leroy allowed two hits and two runs, both unearned, while striking out four. Together, the staff started 22 of 35 hitters with first-pitch strikes, a sign Ottertail Central attacked the zone rather than waiting for trouble to find it.

The defense was not perfect, with three errors, but the Bulldogs still turned a double play and stranded eight runners, enough to survive a game that stayed tight from the middle innings on. That mattered against a familiar opponent. Ottertail Central had already beaten Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 16-4 in five innings in 2024, and another season-opening matchup between the schools ended in a 1-0 Bulldog shutout. This time, the margin was much thinner, but the result again showed a program that knows how to win when a game is hanging in the balance.