Round Five: Rockies vs. Padres

FORT COLLINS, Colo.—At 10:17 p.m. on October 1, 2007, sporadic shouts of celebration flickered through the silence of Morgan Library at Colorado State University when the Colorado Rockies clinched the NL wildcard with the most dramatic comeback yet.

After 162 games, 13 innings and 4 hours and 40 minutes of pure drama, Matt Holliday raced home on Jamey Carroll's shallow sacrifice fly ball, capping a stunning, nearly perfect end to the regular season for the Rockies. The 9-8 win over the San Diego Padres marks Colorado's 14th win in the past 15 games. (Read more about how the NL wildcard was won)

For nearly five hours, online radio coverage of the game streamed through my headphones on the second floor of Morgan Library, peeling me further and further away from my original angle for my “Fort Collins vs. San Diego” blog.

Before the game, I had planned to reminisce about how San Diego had been a playing ground for my young soul to grow and experience several “first time” events. But with the mounting intensity of every extra inning, I began to lose interest in memories of my first full beer.

I had planned to edge out the win to Fort Collins based on the variable “days of sunshine,” where Fort Collins’ 300 sunny days a year overcasts San Diego’s average of 146 days.

However, after such an epic game, I have to give the win for this round to Fort Collins’ bigger brother, Colorado. Way to go Rockies, let’s carry the magic onto Philadelphia!

Official score for round five: 9-8 (Colorado).