DOWAGIAC — For the third straight season, Dowagiac and Niles have squared off against each other in the first game of the Division 2 district tournament.

The previous two games were one-run decisions, so no one was surprised when the Vikings rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to edge the Chieftains 3-2 and advance to the Divison 2 district semifinals at South Haven on Saturday.

The Vikings will face two-time defending state champion Lakeshore in the 12:30 p.m. semifinal. The championship game is scheduled for approximately 2 p.m.

Edwardsburg, a 7-0 winner over host South Haven Tuesday, will face Benton Harbor in the 10 a.m. semifinal.

“I told Keith (Schreiber) after the game we either need a blowout or we have to get away from each other,” said Niles coach Mike Vota about the rivalry between the two teams.

It appeared that Dowagiac was all set to make it three straight district wins over the Vikings (6-19) when it scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to take a 2-1 lead.

Niles had just scored in the bottom of the fifth on an error to break the scoreless deadlock.

But the Chieftains bounced back with a pair of runs in the sixth thanks in part to a Vikings’ error.

Kade Schreiber singled to lead off the inning and moved to second when Cody Dorman reached on an error. Hunter Brackensick’s single to center allowed Schreiber to score the tying run and Dorman to come home on an error by the Niles centerfielder.

Dowagiac threatened again in the top of the seventh with runners at first and second with only one out.

Cole Simpson, who went the distance on the mound for the Vikings, struck out the next two batters to keep it a one-run contest.

Cade Vota drew a lead-off walk in the bottom of the seventh and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kade Wagley.

Vota would score the tying run with two outs on a bloop single down the leftfield line by Ethan Alkire, who advanced to third on a Dowagiac error. Alkire scored the winning run on a passed ball.

In a close game between two teams that have struggled to score runs this season, any little mistake could mean the difference between winning and losing.

“Like I just told the kids, I felt like we gave it to them when we had an inning with some errors and walks,” Vota said. “They gave it back to us. I give my guys a lot of credit. I thought both pitchers did a nice job today of throwing strikes.”

Vota was impressed with the effort of Simpson on the mound as he ended up scattering eight hits while striking out 10 and walking just one.

“For a senior, that is just a gutty performance,” he said. “That is coming out and putting the team on your shoulders and getting it done.”

Hunter Brackensick was nearly as impressive for the Chieftains as he allowed just six hits with a pair of strikeouts. He was replaced in the bottom of the seventh after walking the lead-off hitter by Duan Simpson, who suffers the loss.

Simpson was the only player on either team to have more than a single as he doubled for the Vikings.

For Dowagiac (11-15) the loss is a bitter pill to swallow.

“As soon as we drew Niles, based on our past history, you can almost expect that type of game where is it going to come down to a run,” said Dowagiac coach Keith Schreiber. “I do not have many complaints about the way our kids played today. Brackensick did a great job on the mound. We just couldn’t get a big hit. When we got runners on we didn’t get a bunt down early on. I am proud of the way our guys competed today. You have to get 21 outs, and we only got 20.”

Vota and his team know that Saturday will be no cake walk and if they want to play the spoiler and win a district title it will have to continue to play good defense, get good pitching and hit the ball better.

“It is nothing we haven’t seen all year,” Vota said of taking on Lakeshore in the semifinals and perhaps facing either Edwardsburg or Benton Harbor in the championship game. “Lakeshore is good. Edwardsburg is good. We have a whole bunch of teams on district Saturday that are really good. I fully expect it to be some really good baseball on Saturday.”