SHELBY, North Carolina — The home of American Legion Baseball's World Series since 2011, Shelby, North Carolina, is affectionately known as the "City of Pleasant Living” at the junction of two rivers and the beautiful rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, according to a welcome note from the mayor.
The Billings Scarlets, in their first trip to here, would normally hope to paint the town in their red team colors. But in this case, they'll be happy to partially paint it green, new colors they'll be clad in Saturday night as Northwest Regional champions.
Make no mistake: It's tough to reach this World Series. Only eight teams in the nation from a pool of over 5,400 make it, according to the American Legion website.
The Scarlets could prove to be a tough out in this tournament, entering with five straight regional wins at Dehler Park.
Since arriving Tuesday, the team has been on a regimented routine that's included a fun Tuesday night media photo shoot, a light morning workout Wednesday before an afternoon practice and a welcome banquet to cap Wednesday night.
"The boys are excited. We got up and got some workout in (Wednesday) and went over to the stadium," head coach Adam Hust told MTN Sports. "They're jacked, they're having a great time and we just can't wait to play baseball (Thursday)."
Billings opens against Wilmington, Delaware, in a 5:30 p.m. MDT start at Keeter Field. All games will be live streamed on ESPN3, adding to the excitement.
"We played through regionals really well, had a lot of fun doing that," said pitcher Drew McDowell who threw a complete-game no-hitter against Pocatello, Idaho, in last week's regional. "We all really wanted to make it here and we made it happen, and everybody is just super proud and super excited to see where the weekend takes us."
The Scarlets are guaranteed three pool play games against regional champs from Bossier City, Louisiana; Midland, Michigan; and Wilmington, Delaware. League City (Texas), which won it all last year, awaits on the other side of the bracket while returning nine players. They beat Nebraska 1-0 in last year's title game. Fargo, North Dakota; Husdon, Massachusetts; and Troy, Alabama, round out the field of eight.
The top two teams in each division following pool play reach Monday's national semifinals at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. (MDT) with the World Series championship set for Tuesday at 5 p.m. (MDT).
