Bulldogs fall to Eagles, Trojans in PRC action

The Otter Tail Central Bulldogs improved to 2-0 on the young 2026 season with a high-scoring 17-11 victory over Pelican Rapids on Monday evening in Pelican Rapids.

The Bulldogs’ offense came alive early and never looked back, using aggressive baserunning, timely hitting, and patience at the plate to power their way to the win. Otter Tail Central finished with nine hits and drew 12 walks while swiping an impressive 16 stolen bases.

Otter Tail Central wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Kale Misegades delivered a two-run single to give the Bulldogs an early advantage. Kaden Schmieg followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home another run, and Quenten Beske added a sacrifice fly of his own to cap a four-run first inning.

Pelican Rapids responded quickly in the bottom of the first, trimming the lead to 5-4. The Vikings capitalized on timely hits, including a two-run single by Haugrud and a two-run double by Fahje to keep the game tight early.

Otter Tail Central answered in the top of the second inning when Beske doubled to center field, scoring Despard, and Max Grove followed with a single down the right field line to extend the Bulldogs’ lead scoring Beske.

The Bulldogs continued to apply pressure in the third inning. Ayden Olson worked a walk and Carter Knutson followed with a single to help Otter Tail Central push Shebeck and Despard across and maintain control of the game.

Kaden Schmieg earned the win on the mound for Otter Tail Central. The right-hander threw 3⅓ innings, allowing six hits and 12 runs, eight of which were earned, while striking out eight and walking three.

Quenten Beske provided a dominant relief performance to close out the game. Beske pitched 3⅔ innings, allowing no hits and no runs while striking out eight and walking one. His strong outing helped shut down Pelican Rapids’ offense and secure the victory.

Otter Tail Central collected nine hits in the game, with several players contributing multiple hits: Kale Misegades with two hits, two RBIs and three runs; Quenten Beske 2-4, 4 RBIs, double; Max Grove two hits, RBI; Ryan Despard with three walks, two RBIs and four runs. 

The Bulldogs were aggressive on the base paths throughout the contest. Otter Tail Central stole 16 bases in the game, with multiple steals from: Kale Misegades, Grady Shebeck, Ryan Despard and Beck Thorson

The aggressive baserunning created additional scoring opportunities and helped fuel the Bulldogs’ offensive explosion.

Tuesday

The Otter Tail Central Bulldogs dropped their first game of the 2026 season Tuesday night, falling to New York Mills 7–1 at Tony Kawlewski Baseball Field. The Eagles broke open a tight game with a four-run seventh inning to pull away late.

New York Mills struck first in the third inning, capitalizing on a Bulldog defensive error that allowed two runs to score. Despite the early setback, Otter Tail Central settled in defensively and kept the game within reach for much of the contest.

The Bulldogs managed to cut into the deficit but struggled to generate consistent offensive momentum against New York Mills starter Lofgren, who kept OTC hitters off balance throughout the evening.

Senior Kale Misegades turned in a solid performance on the mound for Otter Tail Central. The right-hander pitched 5⅓ innings, allowing three hits and three runs, with just one earned run. Misegades struck out six and walked two, keeping the Bulldogs within striking distance into the late innings.

New York Mills starter Lofgren went the distance, pitching a complete game while allowing three hits and one run, striking out five and issuing no walks.

New York Mills broke the game open in the seventh inning, scoring four runs to extend their lead to 7–1. The late surge proved to be the difference, as the Bulldogs were unable to respond offensively.

The Bulldogs were limited to three hits on the night and picked up hits from Kaden Schmieg, Grady Shebeck and Ryan Despard. 

Wednesday

The Otter Tail Central Bulldogs fell to the Sebeka Trojans 15–2 on Wednesday evening at Sebeka Public School. Sebeka broke open a competitive game with six runs in the third inning and added eight more in the fourth to secure the victory.

With the loss, Otter Tail Central moves to 2–2 on the season.

Sebeka opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Erickson doubled to bring home the game’s first run. The Bulldogs kept the game within reach early, but Sebeka capitalized on scoring opportunities in the middle innings to pull away.

The Trojans added six runs in the bottom of the third inning, using a combination of timely hitting, walks, and defensive miscues. Ament delivered a two-run single to highlight the inning, while Olson drew a bases-loaded walk, an error allowed another run, Campbell added a sacrifice fly, and Lake capped the inning with an RBI single.

Sebeka extended the lead further in the fourth inning, scoring eight runs on three hits. The Trojans again used patience at the plate, drawing multiple walks before delivering key hits.

Lee, Olson and Nelson each drew bases-loaded walks to bring in runs, while another Bulldog error added to the scoring. Lake then delivered a two-run single, followed by a two-run single from Ahrendt to complete the big inning.

Casen Leroy took the loss for Otter Tail Central, pitching three innings and allowing seven runs, three earned, on four hits. Leroy struck out one and walked five.

Sebeka’s Ament earned the win, throwing five innings while allowing four hits and two runs. Ament struck out four and walked one.

Otter Tail Central collected four hits in the contest, including:  Kale Misegades with one hit, RBI, Max Grove with one hit, Ayden Olson with one hit and Ryan Despard with one hit.

Otter Tail Central Head Coach Ryan Hendrickson noted that free passes and defensive miscues played a major role in the outcome.

“We have to do a better job throwing strikes and playing clean defense,” Hendrickson said. “When you give teams extra opportunities with walks and errors, it makes it difficult to stay competitive. Credit to Sebeka — they took advantage of their chances and put together a couple big innings.”

Hendrickson also emphasized the importance of bouncing back quickly during a busy early-season stretch.

“This is a young team in some key spots, and we’re learning early. The good thing is we have another opportunity right away. We’ll regroup, clean up some things, and come ready to compete tomorrow.”

Thursday

The Otter Tail Central Bulldogs returned to form Thursday evening, defeating the Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans 17–6 at Ulen-Hitterdal School District. The Bulldogs used strong pitching, timely hitting, and aggressive base running to improve their record to 3–2 on the season.

Senior Quenten Beske delivered a dominant performance on the mound, striking out 10 batters over four innings. Beske allowed just one hit and one run while walking three, keeping the Titans off balance all afternoon.

The strong start allowed Otter Tail Central to jump out early and control the game from the beginning.

Otter Tail Central got on the board in the top of the first inning when Kale Misegades singled to drive in Despard and Olson, giving the Bulldogs an early advantage.

The Bulldogs extended their lead in the second inning thanks to a Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal error and a Carter Knutson double that added to the growing margin scoring Shebeck and Despard

Otter Tail Central continued to build momentum in the third inning. Ryan Despard doubled to score Shebeck, and Misegades followed with a groundout that plated two more runs (Schmieg and Leroy), pushing the Bulldogs further ahead.

Despard paced the Bulldogs offense with a perfect day at the plate, collecting three hits in four at-bats including a double in the first inning, single in the second inning and a double in the third inning. 

Otter Tail Central totaled nine hits while also showing patience at the plate, drawing 11 walks.

Additional offensive highlights included: Kale Misegades with 2 RBIs, Despard with 2 RBI, 2 stolen bases and Ayden Olson with 3 walks.

Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal mounted a rally in the fifth inning, scoring five runs on five hits. Thordal, Syverson, and Klemetson each delivered RBI singles during the inning.

However, Otter Tail Central responded by shutting down the Titans the rest of the way.

Beck Thorson provided strong relief pitching, throwing two shutout innings while allowing just one hit. Thorson struck out two and walked one to preserve the Bulldogs’ lead.

Otter Tail Central Head Coach Ryan Hendrickson was pleased with the team’s bounce-back performance.

“This was a great response from our group,” Hendrickson said. “Quenten set the tone on the mound, and offensively we did a nice job being patient and putting pressure on them. When we throw strikes, play clean defense, and run the bases aggressively, we’re a tough team to beat.”

Hendrickson also credited the team’s ability to move on from recent losses.

“We talked about getting back to playing our brand of baseball, and the guys responded. It’s a long season, and learning how to bounce back is important.”