Independent Sports

The SMSU baseball team dropped a three-game series against Minnesota State over the weekend. The Mustangs took game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader 4-1, but dropped the second game 10-4 and game 3 on Sunday in a 24-5 mercy-rule loss. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

Noah Pieper had a big pitching performance with a near no-hitter and 15 strikeouts to lead the Marshall baseball team to a 6-0 win over Belle Plaine in game one on Saturday, and Tyler Kraft’s two-run homer highlighted an 18-0 win in the second. marshallindependent.com/news/local-new…

Powered behind a complete game from Madison Hennen with 10 strikeouts allowing no runs, the Minneota/Canby softball team won its home opener behind a full-team effort in an 11-0 mercy-rule shutout against Marshall on Friday. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

Caden Frericks, Brayden Guetter, Gunner Liebl, Henry Stavnes and Oliver Voigt make up the Independent’s Boys Basketball All-Area team. The Player and Coach of the Year will be announced in Thursday’s paper. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

The Wabasso boys basketball team continued its rapid turnaround this season, going 26-4 to finish with 21 more wins than they had two years prior, earning Scott Leopold our selection for Boys Basketball Coach of the Year. marshallindependent.com/news/local-new…

Wabasso senior Brayden Guetter has been named the Independent’s Boys Basketball Player of the year after playing an efficient and pivotal role on both ends of the court in the Rabbit’s memorable 2025-26 season. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

Minneota's Adam DeVlaeminck finished his prep career with five state tournament appearances, three state medals and our selection for Independent Wrestler of the Year marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

The Minneota wrestling program had a historic and memorable 2025-26 season, making it to the state tournament as a team for the first time in a decade and finishing with a 30-3 record. Leading the helm of the Vikings’ success were co-head coaches Matt Buysse and Matt Myrvik, the Independent’s Wrestling Coaches of the Year. @minneotasports marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

Ryan Bell pitched a season-high seven strikeouts along with seven shutout innings to help the SMSU baseball team split a doubleheader with Bemidji State Tuesday afternoon. The Mustangs dropped the first game 7-4, but responded with a 4-1 win in the second. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

Madison Hennen's 13-strikeout shutout and some timely hits from Jayla Jerzak, Joelle Otto and Emily Walker helped the Minneota/Canby softball team kick off its season with a 2-0 win over RTR on Monday marshallindependent.com/news/local-new…

The Lakeview girls softball team opened up the 2026 season with an 11-0 shutout win in five innings over MCC Monday evening. Freshman Makenna Anderson shined in the victory, pitching a complete game with nine strikeouts while allowing just three hits. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

The SMSU softball team picked up a pair of dominant wins against Bemidji State in its home opener on Saturday. The Mustangs defeated the Beavers 10-2 in mercy-rule in the first game, followed by an 8-1 victory in the second. ⁦@SMSUSoftball⁩ marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

Marshall's Reese Drake finished her senior season as the area's leader in points and assists, helping the Tigers to a third-place finish at state and earning her second Girls Basketball and fourth overall Independent Player of the Year selection. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

After putting together yet another transformational and memorable season that led to a section championship and a third-place finish at the state tournament, Marshall’s Dan Westby has been named the Independent’s Girls Basketball Coach of the Year. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

Taleigha Bigler, Leah Carter, Reese Drake, Bailey Mortenson and Anah Schmidt were named to the Independent's Girls Basketball All-Area first team, announced on Thursday, with three more Marshall Tigers and another Laker on the second and third teams. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

Pick up a copy of Saturday's Independent to get our prep girls basketball tab, featuring recaps of all 12 of our area teams

The Marshall Tigers’ quest for revenge against No. 2 Benilde-St. Margaret’s fell short in Thursday’s Class AAA girls basketball semifinals in a 71-59 loss. The Tigers will take on CDH in Saturday's third-place game. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

We’re two hours from tip off in the Class AAA girls basketball semifinals as No. 3 Marshall looks to avenge last year’s state championship loss to No. 2 Benilde-St. Margaret’s marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…

The Marshall girls basketball team had three players score at least 16 points in its state tournament opener, running away with a win over Totino-Grace marshallindependent.com/news/local-new…

The No. 3 Wabasso boys basketball team’s memorable season came to an end Saturday night with a 90-64 loss to top-seeded Central Minnesota Christian in the Section 3A North subsection championship. The Rabbits conclude the year 26-4 overall. marshallindependent.com/sports/local-s…