MANKATO — May is the month where champions emerge from the pack.
That couldn’t be truer in this week’s local sports action. Whether you’re looking for college baseball, high school softball or even track and field local athletes are on the precipice of glory.
Here’s what to watch this week.
Mavericks are Oklahoma bound
Minnesota State baseball couldn’t get past Augustana in the NSIC Tournament. Despite falling short for the conference tournament title the Mavericks still have a place in the Division II national tournament.
MSU drew the No. 6 seed in the Central region Sunday. The Mavericks will venture to Claremore, Okla., to compete in the sub region beginning Thursday at host Rogers State, who drew the No. 2 seed.
The Mavericks open tournament play against No. 3 seeded Central Missouri while Rogers State collides with No. 7 seed Missouri Southern. Start times for both games will be revealed later this week.
Thursday’s game will be the 20th all-time meeting between the Mavericks and Mules. Central Missouri leads the all-time series 15-4 and won the previous meeting 12-10 in the 2024 Central region tournament.
This will be MSU’s 44th overall trip and the seventh-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Scarlets, Cougars off to state
Mankato West girls track and field is, by most definitions, loaded. You can look at the Scarlets in the field, distance running, sprints and/or relays and you’ll find quality. Whether it’s Ruby Marble, Luci Velasquez, Livi Downs, Ava Olson, Landree Quint, Jaelyn Doss, Emma Tuwei, Alex Barten or Allison Carter there’s quality competitors, and that’s just highlighting a handful of the names on this squad.
The same squad which earned the program’s first True Team section title and will be competing against the likes of Mankato East, Edina, Minnetonka, Moorhead and others at True Team state finals Friday in Eden Prairie.
On the boys side you’ll have East vying for a True Team state title after winning its section. The likes of Hayden Tischler, Logan Kleist, Carter Schwartz and so many others will also be aiming for a big trophy.
But what if I told you you could see all of these high caliber athletes knocking down barriers and program records before they battle for a True Team state championship? Well, you 100% can, and I recommend that you should.
East will play host to West, Rochester Mayo and Redwood Valley at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at East’s Wolverton Field.
Matchup of the Week
The 2026 high school softball regular season is quickly coming to a close. And for a grand finale, we have a showdown between one of the top teams in Class A hosting one of the top teams in Class AA on Friday.
Defending Class A state champion United South Central hosts Class AA titan Lake Crystall-Wellcome Memorial at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Wells.
The Rebels entered this week’s slate of games at 14-1 and are set for three games this week before their regular season finale against the Knights. And if the Knights want to hand the Rebels another loss they’ll have to find a way to manufacture runs off senior Mariah Anderson, which is much easier said than done.
Entering the final week of the regular season she’s allowed a mind-numbing five earned runs across 88 innings of work. She’s surrendered 15 hits and 16 walks (two intentional) with 221 strikeouts.
Yeah, there’s a reason why Minnesota State wanted her services for the next four seasons.
But by no means should you sleep on the Knights. Not in the slightest.
LCWM enters this week with only a home doubleheader against Maple River before Friday’s showdown. And the Knights will enter the twinbill with a perfect 17-0 record, outsourcing opponents 189-30 with a walk-off home win over Mankato West and a 1-0 road win over vaunted Jackson County Central.
Both teams are the favorites to win their respective sections. And maybe, just maybe, if both can get to the state tournament they could run the table and bring home the nice hardware.
This could very well be a matchup of the eventual back-to-back state champs of Class A against the new state champs of Class AA. And even if it isn’t, you’ll still be treated to one whale of a softball game.
A game I refuse to miss.
Mitch Vosburg is a multi-time award-winning sports writer and photographer who proudly serves as sports editor for The Free Press. He can be reached at mvosburg@mankatofreepress.com. Follow him on X (@realmitchvburg) and on Instagram (@themantheycallmitch).