Prep Baseball: North Subsection 6A: Bertha-Hewitt eliminates Menahga 6-2
Ethan Bakken went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Dakota Aeling was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs as the third-seeded Bertha-Hewitt Bears used a five-run, fourth inning outburst to down sixth-seeded Menahga 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the North Subsection 6A playoffs Tuesday.

Menahga broke open the scoreless game in the top of the fourth on a RBI single by Stetson Burkman, but the Braves 1-0 lead would be short-lived.

Bertha-Hewitt scored the insurance run on a wild pitch uncorked by Lady Pirate starter Jenny Swenson in the bottom of the fifth inning to escape with the 4-3 quarterfinal victory in the South Subsection 6A playoffs on Tuesday.

Swenson, who pitched six innings, suffered the loss despite limiting the top-seeded Lady Bears to five hits. The junior also had a good performance at the plate to help the eighth-seeded Lady Pirates pull out the near upset. She went 1-for-3 with a double, a run and drove in another as Verndale out hit Bertha-Hewitt in the loss.

Verndale dropped both games of the Park Region Conference doubleheader to Bertha-Hewitt by identical 10-0, five-inning scores Tuesday.

The Pirates couldn’t muster a run against some tough Bertha-Hewitt pitching and committed 13 errors in the first game, which led to a rough outing for starter Dustin Motchenbacher.

Verndale managed six hits against Bertha-Hewitt pitcher Dakota Aeling, with Isaac Schmitz going 2-for-4 for the Pirates.

The nightcap wasn’t any better for the Pirates, although they did cut down on their errors by committing two.

Five local high school track and field teams in the Beyond the Bleachers coverage area participated in the Browne Invitational held at Wadena-Deer Creek on Thursday.

Staples-Motley was the top team with runner-up finishes in the boys’ and girls’ team standings.

Brian Huber led the Cardinal boys with three first place finishes. The freshman speedster won the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash and high jump events while teammates Jason Johnson won the discus throw, Brandon Larson the triple jump and Brandon Sterriker the pole vault.