Lady Bulldogs escape, to play for district title

LINN - Junior third baseman Karli Leeper's RBI double in the 12th inning lifted the top-seeded South Callaway Lady Bulldogs to a dramatic 5-4 win over No. 4 Cuba in the Class 2, District 9 semifinals Thursday night.

South Callaway survived by forcing the game to extra innings with a four-run outburst in the sixth. Junior left fielder Brooke Craw singled in the 12th for the Lady Bulldogs and advanced to second on the play on a throwing error. Leeper followed with a double to deliver Craw with the decisive run.

South Callaway (17-8) was scheduled to play No. 3 seed Belle for the District 9 championship Friday, but the game was rained out. The two schools will now square off for the title at 5 p.m. Monday. Belle reached the championship by toppling No. 2 seed Linn 9-5 in Thursday night's other semifinal.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.