On the night of Nov. 1, 2017, the MLB season came to its final and most exhilarating contest, Game 7 of the World Series. The two contenders, the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers, would take their final swings of the year, and only one would walk away with the glamorous World Series trophy. Both sides had a lot to lose as the teams had to grind out every win they could muster against their opponent. In the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a World Series win would propel them to their first championship since 1988 and eliminate their recent history of being a beatable postseason team. The Houston Astros, following their team and citywide motto “Earn History”, would get a ticket to their first championship since the establishment of their franchise in 1962. The first four games of the World Series were rather typical, both teams finding it difficult to outscore their opponent. However, following the rollercoaster-like events of Game 5, the two teams clearly demonstrated to the baseball world why they belonged at baseball’s biggest stage and why this World Series would be an unforgettable one for ages.

“It’s so great for the city of Houston, and all of baseball for that matter, that the Astros finally came through and won their first World Series Championship,” junior Brandon Schindo said.

Game 5 was nothing short of a “slugfest” and it will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest games in World Series history. Hosted at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, the game took 5 hours and 17 minutes. Between the two teams, there were a total of 8 home runs and 25 runs scored. By the 9th inning, the Astros had already prevailed over 4-0, 7-4 and 8-7 deficits. Meanwhile, the Dodgers collected themselves from an 11-8 hole. Both teams hard fighting while down on the scoreboard lead to the game being tied in its later stages. On a walk-off hit by Alex Bregman, the Astros finally pulled through and celebrated a 13-12 victory over the Dodgers in extra innings to give them the lead in the series with three wins to the Dodger’s two.

The following day, the two teams flew to LA to play the final two games of the World Series at Dodger Stadium. They would both take the day off, apprehensively gathering and mentally preparing themselves for the following days to come. The Dodgers, however, were not going to meet their demise without putting up a fight. Capitalized by a Joc Pederson home run, the Dodgers took Game 6, winning 3-1.

With the series tied at 3 wins apiece, the stakes were exceptionally high for both teams in a World Series that had become a “go big or go home” scenario. The Astros never showed any signs of weakness against the Dodgers or their pitcher, Yu Darvish, and they rattled him early. In just the second inning, the Astros’ lead was extended to 5 runs following the home run heroics of phenom outfielder, George Springer. Later on, pitcher Charlie Morton would close the game with four shutout innings to take the win, leaving the score at 5-1.

“I was happy for the Astros winning, especially after all the losses they were taking, including following the hurricane destruction,” sophomore Melanie Artiles said.

The sounds of triumph rang especially close to heart following the World Series win for the Houston Astros. After the events of Hurricane Harvey, Houston was left in despair, needing something grand to lighten their spirits, and the Astros were definitely the answer to their prayers. The 2017 World Series will go down as a memorable one, full of emotion, pride and dignity. Make sure to click here to reminisce the World Series victory of the Houston Astros.