NOVAK: Counting down to the state tourney

Published 8:21 am Tuesday, May 8, 2018

We are beginning that magical time of year when teams begin the countdown to the state tournament.

We are closing in on conference tournaments, as well as, crowning conference and division championships.

I cannot wait to see how well our teams fare in the postseason.

Right now it is tough to gauge just who is going to have the best shot at a long tournament run because most of our teams have not played enough games to get a real feel for them.

The one exception to that is the Edwardsburg baseball team.

Head coach A.J. Gaideski has the Eddies rolling once again and I get the feeling this might be the year that Edwardsburg finally reaches East Lansing.

It has been a great sports year already for the Eddies as they reached Ford Field and played for a state football championship.

Several of those players are on the baseball roster and will bring that experience with them as they head into the postseason.

But the Edwardsburg will have no cake walk to Michigan State University as they play in what I believe to be the best district in the state of Michigan year in and year out.

The Class B district has always been strong with the likes of Lakeshore, Niles and Dowagiac in the field.

Although the Chieftains have fallen on hard times of late, they have always seemed ready to give their best effort when the district competition comes around.

Benton Harbor could be a wild card in this year’s district field as the Tigers from time to time come up with a quality squad that can push even the best of teams.

Edwardsburg did not get any favors from the district draw either.

The Eddies will face the Lancers in the first semifinal at Rotary Park in Dowagiac on June 2.

Niles will take on the host Chieftains in the pre-district round on May 29.

Benton Harbor gets the winner of the Dowagiac-Niles contest in the second semifinal on June 2.

These final couple of weeks of the regular season are going to be interesting as teams begin preparing for the state tournament.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.