OTC falls to 5-5 overall, 4-4 in Park Region Conference

In one of their toughest outings of the season, the Otter Tail Central Bulldogs were blanked 4–0 by Menahga on Tuesday at Tony Kawlewski Baseball Field. Despite a strong start on the mound from senior Garrett Kuhn-Rice, OTC struggled with execution on both sides of the ball, stranding runners and committing multiple defensive errors that led directly to runs.

Kuhn-Rice struck out nine over six innings, allowing five hits and just one earned run. He was efficient and aggressive, throwing 64 percent of his 92 pitches for strikes. Owen Harig closed out the seventh, giving up one run on two hits with one strikeout.

Menahga’s breakthrough came in the fifth inning, when Fordyce Johnson drove a two-run double to left center. In the sixth, a series of miscues allowed two more to cross the plate, with OTC committing four errors on the day, including a pair in each of Menahga’s scoring innings.

Offensively, the Bulldogs managed just five hits—including doubles from Eric Fick and Ryan Despard—but were unable to capitalize in key spots. They left eight runners on base, including the bases loaded in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth.

Quenten Beske, Garrett Kuhn-Rice, Conner Thompson, Despard and Fick each tallied hits. Harig and Kale Misegades drew walks and Despard also reached via hit-by-pitch.

Menahga’s Creed Koll went the distance on the mound, striking out five and walking three in a 102-pitch effort. Johnson and Kason Aho each went 2-3 for the Braves. Defensively, Menahga turned a sharp 8-6 double play in the fifth to help stifle a potential Bulldog rally.

“This one stings,” said head coach Ryan Hendrickson. “We had chances. Garrett pitched well enough to win, but we made too many mistakes behind him and didn’t finish innings at the plate. These are the games we’ve got to learn from fast.”

With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 5–4 on the season. 

Wednesday

A rough day for the Bulldogs led to a 12–3 loss for the Bulldogs on Wednesday against the Frazee Hornets on the road. The Hornets scored in six of seven innings, capitalizing on OTC’s six errors, 10 walks and timely extra-base hits.

Frazee jumped ahead with three runs in the bottom of the first and added one more in the second off starter Kaden Schmieg, who pitched two innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk. Rowan Finseth followed with 2 1/3 innings of work in his varsity pitching debut, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and four walks. Olin Link closed out the final 2 2/3 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on three hits, five walks, and one strikeout.

Offensively, OTC managed just three hits — singles by Owen Harig, Garrett Kuhn-Rice, and Ayden Olson, with Olson driving in the team’s only run. The Bulldogs scratched across runs in the second and fourth but were otherwise held in check by Frazee’s Asher Blaine, who threw a complete game with 11 strikeouts and only three walks.

Frazee’s offense was led by Karson Krause (2-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI), and Blaine added a 3-4 performance with a double, two RBIs, two runs, and two stolen bases. Andrew Aho chipped in with two hits and two RBIs of his own.

The Hornets broke the game open in the sixth with a five-run rally, fueled by a pair of extra-base hits, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch — taking full advantage of OTC’s miscues.

“We didn’t help ourselves tonight,” said head coach Ryan Hendrickson. “Our pitchers had to work under pressure all game and we gave Frazee too many free chances. We’ve got to clean up the defense and come back with focus.”

Still, Coach Hendrickson noted a bright spot:

“It was a good test for a couple of our younger pitchers — Kaden and Rowan — to get on the varsity mound for the first time in their careers. They made the most of their opportunity, and it was fun to watch them work,” he said. 

He also credited Frazee’s starter: “I was hoping to see more offense from the Bulldogs, but we’ve got to give Blaine credit—he was throwing well today and kept us off balance.”