SNYDER — One out away from celebrating a huge Game 1 win over two-time defending region champion New Home, the Stamford baseball team saw a tough break and a clutch Leopard rally extend the game to extra innings Thursday at Moffett Field.

About 40 minutes later, it was the Bulldogs’ hearts that were broken in a 4-1 loss to the Leopards that took nine innings and more than three hours to complete.

After forcing Stamford ace Christian Duran out of the game with a comebacker that resulted in a lower leg injury, New Home rallied on its final out to tie the game off reliever Alex Guzman. And the Leopards used some more two-out magic in the ninth, when Graham Stanford and Brazos Beck drew walks ahead of a three-run blast by Ryder Starkey for what proved to be the winning runs in an epic Region I-2A semifinal matchup.