Prior to the American Legion season, South Rowan coach Allen Wilson was confident his team would be sound on the mound.

But one knee injury and two changes of heart have wiped out a trio that won 17 games in the prep season and figured to make Wilson’s staff as deep as any in Area III Southern Division.

Now Wilson’s seventh-seeded team enters its first-round playoff series with second-seeded Mooresville perilously shy of arms.

Young left-hander Andrew Morgan (2-3, 3.86 ERA, 39 Ks) has been South’s only consistent starter. He’ll go in Game 1. Another lefty, Nick Mayle (2-2, 6.88 ERA), has shown signs of recovering from a shaky beginning — two quick grand slams — and will go in Game 2. South’s Game 3 starter will be right-hander Mike Davis (1-4, 7.62 ERA), who’s had a rough go of things this summer after turning in an all-conference spring at South Rowan High.

Dependable Tim Cook (four saves) will close if the opportunity arises.

After that quartet, unproven youngsters must deliver if South’s to make this 4-of-7 series interesting.

And yet, Wilson is confident his team matches up better with Mooresville (15-9, 10-4) than it does with any of the other top teams. He may be right. South (8-14, 3-11) did beat Mooresville twice in four regular-season meetings and also has the revenge factor working. South suffered a brutal, season-ending 2000 playoff sweep by 13-2 and 13-3 scores at the hands of Whitey Meadows’ Moors.

Why does Wilson feel he has a ghost of a chance? Because, at least on paper, Mooresville doesn’t have overpowering pitching, speed or power. What it does have, however, is a fundamentally sound bunch that gets after it and doesn’t beat itself.

Mooresville has a raft of solid singles hitters — six are hitting .344 or better — although injured left fielder Michael McClain’s tragically missing bat (.475, 41 RBIs) is impossible to replace.

The keys to the series will be whether South gets some strong outings from its decimated staff and how Mooresville responds emotionally to McClain’s absence.

Wilson expects an inspired effort from the Moors, who are one of only two teams to beat Rowan County.

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NOTES: South has never won a playoff series and has won only two playoff games — one each in ’97 and ’98.

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Kannapolis-Concord: Kannapolis (10-7, 10-4) finished the season strong, tying Mooresville for second.

Drawing sixth-seeded Concord (8-11, 5-9), its biggest rival, guarantees some first-round fireworks in a series that opens tonight at Veterans Field. The teams played two tense games in the regular season, with Kannapolis winning both on the strength of great starts by Andrew Petty (a season-turner at Webb Field, 24 hours after a 15-0 wipeout by Rowan) and Zach Ward.

But Concord has slugger/slinger Brian York and that should rule out a Kannapolis sweep.

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Mocksville-Stanly: You have to like Mocksville’s pitching depth in the series between two 7-7 teams that begins tonight in Albemarle.

Stanly staggered to the finish line with ugly blowout losses to Mocksville, Kannapolis and Rowan in which it was outscored 44-9.

Streaky Mocksville, which has put together five-game win streaks twice (Rowan stopped both streaks) could dominate this series if sluggers Casey Stanley and Andrew Daywalt get occasional help from the bottom of the order.