Defending district champion Edwardsburg would like nothing more than repeat as the Division 2 baseball champion.

The Eddies defeated Niles 5-1 in last year’s title game.

But veteran Edwardsburg coach A.J. Gaideski, who was as standout at Niles, knows that his team will have its work cut out for it at Dowagiac Sasturday.

The Eddies take on host Dowagiac at 10 a.m. in the first semifinal at Rotary Park.

Niles and Paw Paw will play the second semifinal at approximately 12:30.

The championship game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

“We will need to throw strikes and play great defense to have a chance to win the district,” Gaideski said. “The regular season prepared us for districts by seeing the importance of throwing strikes, keeping hitters off balance and giving us great competition.”

Edwardsburg (21-11) swept Paw Paw 2-0 and 12-3 back in early April. The Eddies split with Niles May 25 with the Vikings taking the opener 7-3 and the Eddies winning the nightcap 10-5.

Edwardsburg also swept Dowagiac in Wolverine Conference play.

The two-time defending Wolverine Conference champions are led offensively by Damion Pompey (.330, five doubles, a home run, 20 RBIs and 28 runs scored), Chris Griffin (.329, 10 doubles, a home run and 21 RBIs), Mason Mitchell (.321, eight doubles, four home runs and 25 RBIs) and Zach Plummer (.305, six stolen bases, a home run and 18 RBIs).

Joe Raabe and Zach Priebe are the top two pitchers for Edwardsburg.

“Anybody can win this district,” Gaideski said. “Whoever plays great defense and has timely hitting will win.”

Niles (18-15) comes into the district having split a pair of games this week.

The Vikings defeated Lakeshore 6-2, but were blanked by Sturgis 10-0 Wednesday.

Veteran Niles coach Mike Vota says that the team that gives up the least amount of extra at-bats will win.

“The team that eliminate freebies (walks and errors) will have the best shot,” he said. “Have to minimize any big inning to win at this time of year.”

The Vikings are led by Jakob Huffman (.398), Austin Curran (.387), Bryce Lake (.365), Cody Glick (.364) and Drew Huffman (.344).

The top pitchers for the Vikings are Jakob Huffman (3-4, 2.084 ERA), Lake (3-3, 2.423 ERA) and Drew Huffman (1-3, 2.917 ERA).

Vota, who says the Eddies are the favorite, knows his team has faced quality competition this season.

“We have seen a ton of great teams and individual players,” he said. “Most of them have pitched. We have learned how to compete against top quality ball clubs.”

Dowagiac finished on a bit of a run toward the end of the season, but still wound up with a 14-20-1 overall record.

Chieftain coach Dan Schuchardt said his team will have to play solid all day long to win the championship.

“In order to win the district this year for us it will come down to our defense,” he said. “If we can make the routine plays and build on the momentum of quick innings anything can happen.”

Top offensive threats for the Chieftains include Brenden Dudley (.415, 12 doubles and 25 RBIs), Erik Walker (.404 and nine stolen bases), Mack Charles (.344, six doubles and 19 RBIs) and Nick Foote (.343, four doubles and 20 RBIs).

Dudley, Foote and Charles also lead the way on the mound for Dowagiac.

Dudley has an ERA of 2.09, Foote 2.57 and Charles 3.63. The trio has combined for 128 strikeouts.

“I would think the district is wide open this year, although Edwardsburg did win the Wolverine conference again this season, showing their ability to win over the course of the season,” Schuchardt said.

Paw Paw was 11-18-2 and finished deep in the Wolverine Conference standings.

Top hitters for the Redskins are Zack Callahan Jeffery Burch and Jimmy Wressel. Top pitchers are Burch, Ben Flick and Austin Callahan.

Tickets are $5 per person and no passes will be accepted.