Photo by Chad Koenen, contributed 
Above: Members of the Otter Tail Central baseball team lined up for a group picture at Siebert Field at the University of Minnesota last week.

Otter Tail Central defeated Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 19-0 on Monday as three pitchers combined to throw a shutout.

Kale Misegades led OTC to victory by driving in four runs. Misegades went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in runs on a single in the third and a double in the fifth innings. 

Photo by Chad Koenen
Henning senior Tyson Misegades connects with a pitch during a game in Henning earlier this season.

“Kale has been really swinging a hot bat for us, and especially had a nice day at the plate today as our offense was all putting together a really good day,” said head coach Ryan Hendrickson.

The Bulldogs notched 13 runs in the third inning. The offensive onslaught by OTC was led by Jayden Harig, Misegades, Tyson Misegades, Harig, Hunter Haugen and Noah Link, all driving in runs in the inning.

Kale Misegades was the winning pitcher for OTC as he lasted three innings, allowing 3 hits and no runs, while striking out 2 and not allowing a walk. Owen Harig and Hunter Haugen entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief.

OTC racked up 14 hits as a team with Kale Misegades, Haugen, Harig, and Tyson Misegades all managed multiple hits to lead the way. 

 Lane Dilly connects with a pitch during a recent game in Henning.

“We put together a real nice complete game today.  Our guys were fully focused for a 4 conference game week, this was a great start,” said Hendrickson. 

Thursday

A walk-off single led OTC past Wadena-Deer Creek 7-6 on Thursday at Siebert Field at the University of Minnesota. The game was tied at 6-6 with OTC batting in the bottom of the seventh inning when Noah Link singled on a 0-2 count to score pinch runner Ryan Despard.

OTC built a 6-run lead in the third inning and then held off WDC’s charge. The Wolverines scored 5 runs in the failed comeback on a double by Tyson Barthel, a double by Evan Lunde, a double by Connor Dutke, a single by Kobe Snyder and a double by Isaac Hamann. 

“This was a tough inning for us,” said OTC Coach Ryan Hendrickson. “We had a 6 run lead and gave up 6, but it was really credited to WDC as they just strung some hits in a row. Our guys responded well, nobody hung their head, they were on a mission to get the runs back.”

OTC opened up scoring in the second inning. Link singled on a 1-1 count, scoring 1 run.

In the top of the fourth inning, WDC tied things up at 6-6 when Hamann doubled on a 1-2 count, scoring 1 run.

OTC scored 3 runs in the third inning. Lane Dilly and Link each had RBIs in the big inning.

Dilly earned the win for OTC as he went 3 innings in relief, allowing no runs on no hits and striking out two.  

Gavin Pausch had the start on the mound for OTC and went 4 innings gave up 6 runs on 9 hits 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. 

“Gavin threw really well, gave us a great start,” said assistant coach Evan Meece. “Wadena went on a tare in the 4th inning which put Lane in a big spot to gain the record.  As usual our one two punch put us in a great spot to win the game.” 

Dutke took the loss for Wadena-Deer Creek as he lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs while striking out 3 and walking 1.

OTC racked up nine hits. Link and Pausch all managed multiple hits for the Bulldogs. Link took the player of the game award as he went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead OTC in hits and also contributed 4 RBI in the contest, a pretty good birthday present for him. 

Friday

Otter Tail Central dispatched Breckenridge 12-2 on Friday night. OTC opened the scoring in the first inning when Jayden Harig drove in one when Harig doubled.

The Bulldogs also put up five runs in the fifth inning. OTC put the pressure on, led by a walk by Kale Misegades, a single by Owen Harig, an error on a ball put in play by Tyson Misegades and a double by Gavin Pausch. Pausch’s double was in walk-off fashion when it scored his brother Tyson from 2nd base to enforce the mercy 10-run rule. 

Kale Misegades picked up the win on the mound as he allowed 3 hits and 2 runs over 3 innings, striking out 2. Misegades earned the player of the game as he also added offensively. Kale added 2 runs on 1 hit, 2 walks and a stolen base. Tyson Misegades threw 2 innings in relief out of the bullpen. He recorded the last 6 outs, 2 of them by strikeout, to earn the save for OTC.

Hunter Haugen, Pausch, Misegades, Harig, Lane Dilly, Misegades, and Harig each managed one hit to lead the way. 

“This was a good game for us, we played with confidence and played fast,” said Lane Dilly.