An update on some of the closure to the Spring Sport Seasons for Lakes Area Schools.
Forsyth Baseball
The Panthers had to play two on Wednesday, but the end result was the program's second straight Class 3 District Championship and the third in four seasons. In Strafford, two days of rain forced teams to play semi-finals and finals on the same day. The Panthers collected a 5-0 win over Conway in the semi-final then jumped on Fair Grove for seven runs in the second and then let University of Kentucky bound pitcher Tristen Hunter do the rest, striking out 17 in six innings to earn the 7-1 win. The Panthers will now head to Lamar to play in the Class 3 Sectional Game next Tuesday.
Branson Tennis
Also on an impressive four year run, the Pirates are in the Class 2 Team Final Four for the third time in four years after defeating Capital City in the State Quarterfinal Match 5-2 Tuesday in the quarterfinal match hosted by Branson but moved to the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield due to weather. The Pirates claimed fourth place overall in their previous two final four trips in 2021 and 2022. The Pirates will match-up against Platte County in the Class 2 Semi-finals next week also at Springfield's Cooper Tennis Complex. Today at the Cooper Complex, Pirate Singles Player Benjamin Merrifield is the Singles/Doubles State Tournament.
Forsyth Tennis
While the Panther Tennis Team was eliminated in the Class 1 State Quarterfinals by Bolivar, earlier this week, three Panther Tennis Players are in the Singles/Doubles State Tournament. Singles Player Drue Coen and the Doubles Team of Willis Bearden and Griffin Coen are taking part in the competition on Friday in Springfield.