SHELBY, North Carolina – Home of the American Legion Baseball World Series since 2011, Shelby, North Carolina is affectionately known as the “City of Good Living,” according to a welcoming message from the mayor, and is located at the confluence of two rivers and in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Normally, the Billings Scarlets would paint the city red in their team’s colors on their first visit here, but in this case they’ll gladly paint it green, the new colors they’ll wear as champions of the Northwest Regional.

Don’t worry: It’s all about getting to that World Series. According to the American Legion website, only eight teams make it out of a pool of over 5,400 players.

The Scarlets could prove to be tough competition in this tournament, as they have five consecutive regional wins at Dehler Park.

Since arriving on Tuesday, the team has had a rigorous daily schedule that includes a fun photo shoot for the media on Tuesday evening, a light workout on Wednesday morning before afternoon practice, and a welcome banquet to cap off Wednesday evening.

“The guys are excited. We got up today, did a little practice and then went to the ballpark,” head coach Adam Hust told MTN Sports. “They’re pumped up, having a great time and we can’t wait to play baseball tomorrow.”

Billings will play Wilmington, Delaware, for the first time at 5:30 p.m. MDT at Keeter Field. For even more excitement, all games will be streamed live on ESPN+.

“We did really well at the regionals and had a lot of fun doing it,” said pitcher Drew McDowell, who threw a complete game no-hitter at the regionals against Pocatello last week. “We all really wanted to make it here and we did it. Everyone is just super proud and super excited to see where the weekend takes us.”

The Scarlets are guaranteed three group matches against the regional champions from Bossier City, Louisiana, Midland, Michigan and Wilmington, Delaware. On the other side, League City (Tex.), which won it all last year, has nine new players. Last year they beat Nebraska 1-0. Fargo, ND, Husdon, MA, and Troy, AB complete the eight-team field.

After group play, the top two teams in each division advance to the national semifinals on Monday at 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (MDT). The World Series finals will be held on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. (MDT).