A pair of BCS Athletic Conference rivals will square off in the Division 3 district semifinals with a spot in the championship game on the line Saturday.

Buchanan (25-8) survived an upset bid by host Berrien Springs in the pre-district game Tuesday.

The Bucks rallied from a three-run first inning deficit to beat the Shamrocks 7-3 and advance to the 10 a.m. semifinal. The winner advances to the 2:30 p.m. title game at Berrien Springs.

Top offensive players for the Bucks are Emma Schmidt, Ali Kyles, Sammi Luzadre, Ericka Donathen and Jade Mosier.

Luzadre (13-4) and Maddie Hemphill (11-4) are the Buchanan pitchers.

Bucks’ coach Mike Welsh said the formula for winning the title is simple.

“Score more runs than the other teams,” he said.

Buchanan and Brandywine split a pair of league games back in early April. The Bucks won 6-5 and the Bobcats 10-8.

The Bobcats record of 15-17 may not impress many, but Brandywine was without standout pitcher Morgan Crocker due to injury for much of the season.

She will be back in the line up Saturday.

“We’ve been playing better as of lately,” Brandywine coach Ron Hartline said. “The regular season is nothing more than a two month practice for the state tournament. We are very fortunate to be back at full strength after losing Morgan Crocker for more than half the season with a broken hand. We could’ve won a lot more games with her in the line-up, but we have her now and she is at full strength.”

Crocker was just 3-2 this season, while Destiny Bennett was 6-9.

Top hitters for Brandywine include Makenna Hartline (.610, 12 home runs, 58 runs scored, 40 RBIs), Michael Hartline (.510, four home runs, 41runs scored, 40 RBIs), Crocker (.474, 10 doubles, 21RBIs), Sydney Carlson (.455, 37 runs scored, 23 RBIs)  and Grace Polomcak (.421, 29 RBIs).

“Bridgman is clearly the favorite in our district,” Hartline said. “They have some really good pitching on their team. They will be a challenge for us if we get to the district championship. We can only take things one game at a time and right now our focus is on how to beat Buchanan.”

The Bees (28-8) are coming off being swept by Niles 1-0 and 4-2 Tuesday.

Bridgman will face Constantine in the second semifinal scheduled to begin at noon.