By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
FARGO, N.D. ó Rowan County will face Midland Berryhill (Mich.) tonight at 8 p.m. EDT.
Billy Veal will take the mound tonight, but right fielder Zach Smith is not in the starting lineup. He injured his left hand on a head-first slide into home during the eighth inning of an 8-7 win against Southern Nevada on Sunday night. Casey Little is expected to take Smith’s place.
Rowan, Midland and Medford (Ore.) are the last three teams left. Medford won 7-6 against Texarkana (Texas) this afternoon. A win tonight would send Rowan into a Tuesday afternoon matchup against Medford at 2 p.m. EDT, with the winner facing Midland for the title Tuesday night at 8 p.m. EDT.
Midland (52-8) is the only unbeaten team left at the American Legion World Series. Catcher Cole Martin was the MVP of the Great Lakes Regional, and Kyle O’Boyle has hit six home runs since the end of the Michigan state tournament.
Rowan faced Midland in its first game of the 1996 American Legion World Series and won 2-1. Christopher Chandler pitched a complete game, and Robert Cline scored on Justin Wishon’s game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning.