Several of the events covered by MOARK Sports this past week turned out to be close games.

The string started on Saturday March 28 with the Sparta Lady Trojan Softball Classic. After the Forsyth Lady Panthers won games over Fordland and Blue Eye, they matched-up with the Gainesville Lady Bulldogs in a back and forth championship game that went to Gainesville 7-5. After a loss at Diamond the following Monday and a run-rule win over Hollister Tuesday, the Lady Panthers game on MOARK on Wednesday was a close one as they got out to a 5-0 lead over Crane before the Lady Pirates rallied in the seventh inning for a pair of runs though Forsyth was able to hold on to a 5-2 win. 

The previous day, the Forsyth Baseball team played an intense match-up with Hollister in both schools' Mid-Lakes Conference Openers. The Panthers took an early 2-0 lead only to see the visiting Tigers grab the lead in the top of the sixth 3-2 with the Panthers regaining the lead 5-3 going into the seventh. The Tigers however loaded the bases with one out before a ground ball double play ended the game in favor of the Panthers. 

The Branson Pirates have played a pair of close games that were covered on MOARK Sports. After splitting two games earlier in the week, the Pirates went to Republic for an early Good Friday afternoon match-up with the Tigers. The Pirates opened up a 6-0 lead, then saw the Tigers get a run in the sixth and four in the seventh and loaded the bases with one out, only to see the Pirates get a pair of strikeouts to end the game with a 6-5 win. A similar situation followed on Saturday at Pirate Park, when a back and forth game against McDonald County seemed to sway in the Pirates favor as they opened up a 8-5 lead going into the final inning, only to see the Mustangs roar back with a home run pulling them within one before the Pirates were able to secure the final out in an 8-7 win. 

All these contests are archived on the MOARK Sports Website with more contests involving area teams coming up this week.