By By SCOTT NOVAK and ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - If tthings go the way they should today, Niles and St. Joseph could see each other in theDivision 3 district championship game.
St. Joseph (30-6) are ranked No. 7 in Division 2. The Bears defeated Dowagiac on Tuesday to advance to today's semifinal game against the defending Division 3 champions Edwardsburg.
The Vikings, who lost a pair of games to St. Joseph in the regular season, will take on Lakeshore in the second semifinal game at 12:30 p.m.
The Vikings (21-8) swept Lakeshore in the regular season 5-0 and 14-3.
Matt Richardson is the Vikings' top pitcher with a perfect 6-0 record and an earned run average of 0.98.
Offensively the Vikings are led by Lyle Watson who is hitting .452 with six home runs and 31 RBIs. Cory Coquillard is hitting .410 with five home runs and 26 RBIs, while Steve Clanton is hitting .420.
The final game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
Division 3
Brandywine is hoping to ride the arm of Kory Bridges and the bat of Josh Atwood to a second straight district championship.
The Bobcats are 18-19 on the season and look to make a statement today against Berrien Springs who won Tuesday's game against Bridgman
Bridges, who is 11-4 on the season with an ERA of 1.01, broke his own strike out record this season with 166 in just 104 innings of work.
Atwood is closing in on a couple of records with his bat for the Bobcats.
Atwood is hitting .402 this season with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs. Atwood could break school marks in home runs and RBIs.
The Bobcats' other top offensive threat is Matt Wieger, who has 39 stolen bases and is hitting .347.
Buchanan will take on River Valley in the second semifinal game set to begin at 11:30 a.m.
The Bucks are currently 13-20, while the Mustangs are 19-11.