Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - The Road to Shelby for two American Legion Baseball regional champions went through Gaston County. Cherryville Post 100, in partnership with Gastonia, NC, hosted one of two first-ever Super Regional Tournaments from August 5-9th at Fraley Field in Cherryville, NC, and Gastonia’s Sims Legion Park. Tupelo, MS, Post 49 won the Mid-south, and Jacksonville, FL, Post 316 was victorious in the Southeast. These two teams will be joining 6 other regional champions in Shelby, NC, August 13-18th for the American Legion World Series.
The Super Regional seems to have been well received. Positive comments were heard about the great job done by Post 100 volunteers in Cherryville and the volunteers at Sims Park in Gastonia. Feedback from commentators on gamechanger livestreams, social media posts, and fans in the stands was mostly positive. There were no final tallies yet for attendance at press time. General observation indicates more fans attended the Southeast regional location than the Mid-South in Gastonia. This is normal because three teams from the Carolinas played in Cherryville, and the teams in the Mid-South were all from out of state. Both sites received praise for their efforts.
Wednesday, August 5th, was opening day for the Southeast Regional, which was played on Fraley Field at Cherryville Memorial Stadium in Cherryville, NC. Game 1 featured Harrison, OH Post 199 defeating Dorado, Puerto Rico Post 45 13-3. The game was close for 5 innings, and Puerto Rico led early, but they ran out of pitching, and Ohio scored 5 runs in the 6th and 7th innings. Game 2 saw Florence, SC, put the defending ALWS Champions, Chesapeake, VA, Post 280 in a big hole as they were dropped to the elimination bracket after losing 6-3. Game 3 was a tight contest with Garner, NC Post 232 squeaking out a win over Wheeling, WV Post 1 by a score of 6-5. Game 4 was another close game. Cherryville Post 100 out-hit Jacksonville, FL Post 316 (the eventual southeast champions) six hits to three, yet lost 4-3. Cherryville was unable to get hits at the right time. It was a highly competitive, hard-fought game.
Thursday, August 6th, was day two. Game 5 opened the day with Wheeling, WV, eliminating Puerto Rico 3-0. In Game 6, Cherryville took on Chesapeake, VA, but could not get the bats going and was eliminated by the defending champions, 6-1. In game 7, Garner, NC, rolled over Harrison, Ohio, 11-1, dropping them into the elimination bracket. Game 8 was a shocker. Jacksonville, FL, came into the regional with a perfect record and averaging 10 or more runs per game. After the close call with Cherryville on Wednesday evening, they were not as fortunate against Florence, SC. Florida fell to South Carolina 14-4.
Friday, August 7th, was day three. Chesapeake opened the day, eliminating Ohio 9-4 in game 9. Next up was game 10. Jacksonville shook off the previous loss and downed Wheeling, WV, 10-3. This ended the season for Wheeling. Game 11 was a Carolina showdown with Garner, NC, squaring off against Florence, SC. Garner came out on top in this showdown, winning 14-10.
Saturday, August 8th, brought day 4. This was the battle of the final four. Things started with game 12. Florence, SC, and Chesapeake, VA, battled it out in a close one. Eventually, SC would get the best of VA 5-3, which ended their bid to repeat as World Series Champions. In game 12, Florida took on Garner, NC. Florida jumped out early on the NC champs and sealed the deal with a 7-run sixth inning. The result of this game left three teams with 3-1 records, thus forcing 2 games to be played on Championship Sunday. Garner, NC, drew a bye to the championship game, since they came out of the winner’s bracket.
Sunday, August 9th, was the final day, meaning a champion would be crowned and earn a berth in the 99th ALWS. Game 14 was essentially a play-in championship game to determine which team would play Garner. Jacksonville, FL, and Florence, SC, were pitted in a rematch. This game was much different from the previous meeting. Jacksonville avenged their only loss of the season as they went on to win 5-3 in a hard-fought battle. This set up the final match. Game 15 would decide it all. Thanks in part to Chris Reali, the tournament MVP, who had another strong showing at the plate, Florida outlasted North Carolina in a back-and-forth battle. Jacksonville, FL, won the Southeast Regional, defeating Garner, NC, 11-7.
The Mid-South Regional was also hosted by Cherryville Post 100 as part of the Super Regional. These games were played in Gastonia, NC, at Sims Legion Park. Due to the reorganization of the regional format, only six teams were playing in this tournament, thus allowing action to begin one day later. This also meant there would be fewer games played per day.
Thursday, August 6th, was opening day. Tupelo, MS Post 49 faced Columbia, TN Post 19 in game 1. Tupelo got off to a big start with 4 runs in the first, and that was all they needed as they defeated Columbia 5-2. Game 2 featured Bryant, AR, Post 298, and Bossier City, LA. Post 202. AR got the better of LA with a 5-1 win. Game 3 closed out the day. Daphne, AL Post 199 defeated Ada, OK Pos 72 in a nail-biter that ended 4-3.
Friday, August 7th, was day 2, and game 4 featured an unusual matchup: a rematch of last year’s Mid-South championship game between Columbia, TN, and Bossier City, LA. neither team wanted nor expected to be facing elimination this early. Excellent pitching made for a very tight game, and TN led 1-0 going into the bottom of the sixth, before Bossier scored 2 runs. The final score was 2-1, ending the season for TN. Game 5 followed with Tupelo eliminating Ada, OK, 7-1. Game 6 closed out the night with another close contest, as Daphne, AL, defeated Bryant, AR, 3-1.
Saturday, August 8th, began with 6 teams, but the 6-team tournament format would leave only two by night’s end. Game 7 featured Bossier City and Bryant, AR. The LA team eliminated the boys from AR in a 6-1 win. Game 8 was a backbreaker for Daphne, AL, as Tupelo, MS, rolled to a 14-0 victory. Tupelo drew a bye to Sunday’s Championship round, and Bossier City and Daphne, AL, met in game 9, which was the second game of the day for both teams. Bossier City had no trouble eliminating Daphne 10-1.
Sunday, August 9th, was Championship Sunday, the day that would see one team take the next step toward their dream and the other return home as runner-up. Game 10 featured the final two teams, Tupelo, MS, and Bossier City, LA. Tupelo needed one win, and Bossier needed two for the regional championship. Bossier City led 1-0 through 5 innings, before scoring 3 more in the 6th, and Tupelo added 1. Bossier scored 2 more in the 7th, forcing a second and final game with a 6-1 win. Game 11 would decide it all. Tupelo scored in every inning and breezed through this game to capture the Mid-south Regional Championship and a well-earned berth in the 99th American Legion World Series in Shelby, NC.
August 13-18, Shelby Post 82 will host the American Legion World Series. Tupelo, MS, and Jacksonville, FL, punched their tickets and are awaiting the other 6 finalists. This is the goal of every team when the Legion season begins, and soon, a champion will be crowned, and one of the 8 regional finalists will achieve that goal. We will have a breakdown of each regional champion as we preview the ALWS in a later article.
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