MOKANE - Peyton Leeper helped the South Callaway Bulldogs sidestep a potential stumble.
South Callaway's junior starter tossed a three-hitter and struck out 13 as the top-seeded and defending Class 3 state champion Bulldogs resisted No. 4 Hermann 2-1 in the District 9 semifinals Tuesday afternoon.
Senior Josh Johnson supplied the timely hit for South Callaway, breaking a 1-all tie with a pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bulldogs (20-8) - who moved up three spots to No. 4 in the final Class 3 regular-season poll released Monday - will clash with No. 3 seed Dixon (20-3) for the District 9 championship at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Dixon downed No. 2 seed Fatima 9-5 in Tuesday night's second semifinal.
Leeper (8-2) gave up an unearned run and issued only one walk Tuesday, with 68 of his 91 pitches going for strikes as he won his fifth consecutive start.
The Bulldogs struck quickly with a run in the first. Senior center fielder Kaden Helsel singled to left with two outs and came all the way around to score when senior shortstop Dylan Lepper followed with a double to right.
South Callaway protected its slim edge until the Bearcats pulled even in the fourth, scoring their run on a single, a stolen base and an error by the Bulldogs.
South Callaway didn't need long to go in front to stay. Helsel was hit by a pitch with one out in the fifth and went to second on Lepper's single to left.
After senior first baseman Landon Horstman popped out to Hermann's second baseman, Helsel and Lepper executed a double-steal. Helsel then sprinted home from third with what proved to be the decisive run on Johnson's single to left.
Lepper finished 2-for-3 with an RBI as the Bulldogs managed only six hits. Johnson was 1-for-1 with the game-winning RBI, while Helsel went 1-for-2 and tallied both of South Callaway's runs.