By Leanna Churchill
Staff Writer
On Oct. 13, the Chicago Cubs clinched the playoff series at Wrigley Field – the first time they won a postseason series at their Wrigley home.
This was also an end to an almost weeklong debate over one of the biggest rivalries in Major League Baseball. The Cubs? Or the Cardinals?
“With the Cubs being perennial losers and the Cardinals usually dominating in the postseason, it was a nice change to see a group of young sluggers get the best of a veteran squad,” said Lincoln Land student, Keith Burris, even though he’s a Cardinals fan,
A co-worker of Burris, Sara Dillon said she was “proud of most Cardinal fans for being so supportive and being such good sports about the loss.”
The Springfield area has always been in the middle of the Cubs/Cards debate, given its proximity to both cities, but it was defiantly heightened with the excitement of the series.
The eventful week began for the Cubs with a win over the Pittsburg Pirates in the wild card game on the previous Wednesday night.
Within minutes following the game, the Cubs and Cardinals fans were already talking trash and making plans to watch the series.
Never before in history had the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals played each other in a postseason series. Connected by Interstate 55, this series was expected to be one of the biggest of the 2015 postseason.
As a long time Cubs fan, 79-year-old, Richard Gross was excited to see his team succeed against the Cardinals at an important time.
Gross said, “The majority of my family are fans of the Cardinals, and they always get to have fun making fun of my Cubs. Now I can turn the tables, since they’re the ones that lost this time.”
Two days after the wild card game, game one of the National League Division Series, a five-game series, took place at Busch Stadium with an anticipated pitching matchup.
Cardinal John Lackey took the mound against former teammate John Lester. The Cardinals edged out the Cubs that game, 0-4.
In game two, the Cardinal’s three solo home runs were not enough to top the Cubs six runs. The Cubs came out of that game with a 6-3 win and evened the series at one a piece.
For game three, the Cubs were the ones on home turf, after a day off, with a sea of blue filling the stands at Wrigley. This game would be another historical moment for the Cubs.
The Cubs would win this game 6-8, with a record setting six home runs. That topped the previous record of five homers in a single postseason game, which five teams shared.
All eight of the runs scored by the Cubs were off the home run balls.
There were solo blasts from Kyle Schwarber and Starlin Castro, before Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo went back-to-back in the fifth, making the score 2-5.
Jorge Soler hit a two-run home run in the sixth and Dexter Fowler rounded off the night with a solo shot in the eighth.
Game four started at Wrigley, in the late afternoon, with the Cubs one win away from a trip to the National League Championship Series.
The Cardinals took an early lead in the first, behind a Stephen Piscotty two-run home run and would score two more runs that game but it was not enough to top the Cubs, who scored six runs.
Three hours and sixteen minutes after the first pitch, the Cubs would fly the W and the celebration for the team and their fans began.
While the player sprayed each other with champagne and gathered on the field with their families, fans filled the streets outside the stadium to celebrate.
Gross’s granddaughter and former Lincoln Land student, Rachel Gross said her first reaction was disappointment, from a Cardinal’s fan stand point, but the Cubs “played well and they clearly wanted it more this year.”
For the team and all the fans the Cubs postseason series win over the Cardinals was a historical and memorial one.
“There is still many games left to play, but at least they beat the Cards,” said Mason Hutcheson, Cubs fan and Lincoln Land student.
For the Cardinals fans, they can take a lesson from the Cubs and remember the mantra: “There’s always next year.”
Leanna Churchill can be reached at [email protected].