By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Niles All-Stars won the Michigan District 15 Senior Baseball district title and then went on to win the sectional championship this past Saturday in Blissfield.
In winning its district title, Niles defeated Lawton and White Pigeon twice.
The All-Stars rolled to a 14-3 victory over Lawton in their opening game.
Tyler Knisely was the winning pitcher. Anthony Gladden led the team offensively with a pair of singles and a double.
Dan Reidenbach also finished with three hits, while Ricky Briand added a triple.
Niles defeated host White Pigeon in the second game of the tournament, 15-5.
Taylor Ort earned the mound victory for the All-Stars.
Corey Johnson had three hits, while Jesse McCombs and Justin Stroud each had two hits.
Niles took the championship with a 4-3 win over White Pigeon.
Reidenbach was the winning pitcher.
Ort, Will Coar and Kevin Gross all finished with two hits.
In the sectional round, Niles had to defeat host Blissfield in a best-of-three series.
The host team won the opening game 2-1 and was in a position to eliminate the All-Stars in the second game.
It took 11 innings, but Niles was able to edge Blissfield 4-3 to set up a deciding third game.
The home team was no match for the All-Stars, who posted a 14-3 victory.
Knisely took the loss in the opening game.
Niles had just two hits in the contest – singles by Ort and Andrew Brawley.
Tyler Jackson was the winning pitcher in the second game. Coar, Briand and Gross all had two hits.
In the deciding game, Dominique Pompey singled, doubled and drove in four runs.
Ort singled three times and scored four runs, while Reidenbach singled twice and was credited with four RBIs.
McCombs was the winning pitcher.
Niles will open up state tournament play on Friday against Emmet at 9:30 a.m.
The All-Stars will face Petoskey on Saturday at noon, while on Sunday, Niles will take on Harper Woods at 9:30 a.m.