Scheduled for this coming Saturday afternoon, May 18, it’s a continuance of a recently-established high school baseball tradition.
Dubbed as the “Knutson Classic” by popular area umpire Matt Prunty (who also teaches mathematics, leads the student council and organizes Homecoming Week events at HL-O), the game will be played for a third time. The first pitch is slated to be thrown at 1 p.m. — and Prunty will call be game from behind home plate, as he did two years ago when the first “classic” was played here in Heron Lake.
In that first “Knutson Classic” in late May of 2017 — after being rescheduled when rains and a wet field postponed the original planned date — Heron Lake-Okabena (the pairing with Fulda did not come until last year) defeated the first-year pairing arrangement of Glenville-Emmons / Alden-Conger by a final score of 9-2.
Coaching HL-O that spring was Chad Knutson, who had been the Wildcats’ assistant coach (under Kevin Rogers) the previous year. Chad, a 2000 graduate of HL-O, has coached the community’s amateur or “town team” baseball squad since 2002.
Chad’s younger brother, Lucas Knutson was coaching the Wolverines of G-E / A-C. Lucas is a 2005 graduate of HL-O and a long-time versatile player for the Lakers. He has also coached the Heron Lake youth baseball programs — the Mites and Midgets — since the summer of 2004.
Both Knutson brothers are back again this spring as opposing head coaches for the third straight “classic.”
That first year, a third brother, Logan Knutson, spring, pitched the game for HL-O and received plenty of defensive and offensive support as the multiple-sport senior athlete contributed a fine effort on the mound (striking out eight, walking just one and tossing five scoreless innings after giving up two runs in the first).
Senior David Volk, who had two key hits in the game, kept the Wolverines off the board in the seventh. HL-O smacked 12 hits in that first “classic,” spread among eight players, and broke the contest open with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Last year, the game was played in Glenville and the Coyotes (Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda) gave Chad a 2-0 coaching edge with a highly-competitive 7-5 victory.
Junior Eli Becker, who had three hits for HL-O in the 2017 game as a sophomore, started on the mound and was part of a 14-hit attack by the Coyotes, who scored four runs in the top of the first inning.
The Wolverines, however, countered with three runs in the third and two in the fourth, giving them a 5-4 lead after four innings. Coyote sophomore Tyson Dirks pitched well over the final three innings and HL-O’s defense made plays, while the visitors scored solo runs in each the fifth, sixth and seventh to post the two-run victory.
Freshman catcher Matt Madsen (3-for-4), senior shortstop Taylor DeWall (2-for-4, 3 RBIs), senior Jacob Burdick, Eli Becker, freshman Eli Fest and senior Ethan Becker all contributed multiple-hit games for HL-O / Fulda, while sophomore Dylan Johanning also had a base hit.
Dirks, Madsen, Eli Becker, Fest and Johanning, along with Andrew Madsen who missed last year’s game with a sprained ankle (but played two years ago as a sophomore) are each expected to be back action for this week’s third annual “classic”
By comparative scores, the favorite this time around may be the Wolverines, who have an overall record of 5-9, including last Saturday’s (May 11) thrilling 9-8 victory over Madelia at Glenville.
The Coyotes (3-9) lost to Madelia by a final score of 14-1 at Searles 15 days earlier on Friday, April 26.
Warm, dry weather is forecast for this weekend and the two paired programs plan to play a junior varsity or JV game following the seven-inning varsity contest.
