By Levi Payton

sports@joplinglobe.com

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Seneca Indians will not repeat as the Class 3 District 12 softball champions in 2007.

Carl Junction knocked the Indians off 1-0 on Thursday, and Webb City thumped McDonald County 9-0 in the second game.

The No. 1-seeded Bulldogs and No. 2 Cardinals are set to square off in the district championship at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s pretty big,” CJ coach Brad Shorter said. “Just getting (to the championship) is pretty important — especially in this sport — because you give yourself an opportunity.”

The Bulldogs will have their hands full with Webb City. The Cardinals had little trouble scoring runs against the 21-5 Mustangs.

Cardinals roll to shutout

As strange as it appears, one strike could have changed the entire complexion of the Cardinals’ win. Granted, they still might have defeated the Mustangs, but Brooke Poulson’s two-run single in the first inning certainly set the tone for the rest of the game.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Mustangs pitcher Tara Higgins quickly jumped ahead of Poulson with two strikes. But Poulson laced a line drive through the right side of the infield to score a pair of runs.

“I was real nervous,” Poulson said. “It was a two-strike pitch and she threw it outside, so I went with it like Coach (Walter Resa) told me to. Thankfully, it got us two runs.”

Amber Hayden stole home on the next pitch to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

“If our girls come in here playing like this, we’re capable of hitting the ball like that,” Resa said. “Brooke Poulson’s the one that got us going with that hit. They make a catch and get that out and this was likely a different ball game.”

Cardinals pitcher Nicole Hudson took the bats out of the Mustangs’ hands by allowing just two hits while striking out 14.

Despite battling an injured right wrist, Hudson seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. She struck out the side in the sixth and seventh.

“Nicole has only pitched about five games this year,” Resa said. “She’s a competitor, and she wants the ball this time of year.”

The Cardinals (20-4) crossed the plate three times in the fourth and added three more runs in the sixth. Raeven Replogle finished 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored.

Higgins managed to strike out nine Cardinals, perhaps the lone bright spot for the disappointed Mustangs.

“Tara pitched well tonight, but she just made some mistakes and they hit those mistakes into gaps,” Mustangs coach Dinah McCall said.

Bulldogs headed to championship

It wasn’t the ideal way to advance, but Carl Junction (16-10) is headed to the championship game regardless.

Despite scratching out just two hits, the Bulldogs won because they took advantage of two costly Seneca errors in the first inning.

After Mannie DeCastro reached on a throwing error, Lauren McRae grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out.

Kaitlin Wilson then grounded into what appeared to be the inning-ending play, but the throw from the shortstop sailed wide of first, allowing McRae to move to third and Wilson to second.

Five pitches later, Jessica Segebartt drove in McRae with a single to left.

“In a one-run game you’ve got to be holding your breath,” Shorter said. “It was something else.”

Bulldogs pitcher Amanda Storm matched Seneca hurler Kyllie Sill on the mound, allowing four hits and striking out 10.

Storm worked out of a jam in the top of the first. With runners at second and third and one out, she coaxed Erin Asposito and Kadey Rae to ground out softly.

“I had a really good defense behind me today,” Storm said. “We could have hit a little better though.”

Seneca (19-10) ran into trouble in the sixth. With one out, Amber Zumwalt crushed a Storm offering to the wall in left-center. With the play unfolding in front of her, Zumwalt didn’t hesitate to try for third.

Zumwalt appeared to slide in ahead of Wilson’s tag, but after a lengthy hesitation by both umpires, she was ruled out.

The Bulldogs committed a throwing error on the next play.

“We’ve got to put the ball in play,” Indians coach Jeff Sill said. “We just didn’t execute on some of the little things today.”

Zumwalt finished 3-for-3 with a double for the Indians while Segebartt led the Bulldogs with a 2-for-3 performance.