Marin Briefs: Big hits rally Knicks to victory

Niko Tejada’s hard-hit grounder up the middle caught the West Coast Kings by surprise and sparked a five-run rally that lifted the Novato Knicks to a 8-5 victory at Albert Park on Friday night. Tejada enjoyed a 2-for-4 night with a double and a walk.

With the Knicks trailing 5-3, Jared Sparza led off the eighth inning with a walk and scored from second base as Tejada’s hit bounced high off the ground, forcing the pitcher to stumble off the mound as the ball shot into the outfield. An error on Eli Hancock’s grounder past third base allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to score. Novato added two more runs in the frame before reliever Lucas Schafer came on for the save in the ninth.

The Knicks (11-8) are scheduled to travel to Healdsburg on Tuesday for a Fourth of July game against the Prune Packers.

Little League

• Tiburon Peninsula hammered out a 12-1 victory over Novato South during Saturday’s District 3 Little League All-Star action. The win keeps Tiburon in afirst-place tie with West Marin, which defeated San Francisco North, 4-1.

• Mill Valley posted a 16-4 win over San Rafael on Friday to remain undefeated at 3-0 atop the District 3 Juniors standings. San Francisco defeated Twin Cities, 16-5, Friday with both teams now at 1-2.

• Twin Cities, Gallinas Valley, Milll Valley and Novato South all picked up wins Saturday in District 3 All-Star 9-10 year-old round robin play. Division leader Twin Cities (5-0) remains undefeated, with Novato South (5-1) close behind in second.

• San Rafael, Twin Cities, Tiburon Peninsula and Mill Valley were Saturday’s winners in District 3 All-Star 11-year-old round robin play. Mill Valley (4-0) leads the standings, just ahead of Tiburon Peninsula (4-1).

Rowing

Marin Rowing Association’s Maisy Ballantyne, Joely Cherniss and Beatrice Knight have been invited to USRowing’s under-19 women’s selection camp in Chula Vista.

Camp invitees are competing for spots on USRowing’s Under 19 National Team in the women’s four with coxswain, quadruple sculls, and eight that will represent the U.S. at the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships, August 2-6, in Paris.