Staring down elimination and a two-game sweep in the Texas League Championship Series, Double-A Springfield's record-setting season appeared destined to be nothing more than a footnote. But the Cardinals finished with the best record on the circuit for a reason and rose to the occasion in the final two games.
Spurred on by a come-from-behind win in Game 2, Springfield blitzed Midland early and often en route to a 13-1 win in the finale and its first Texas League crown since 2012. The Cardinals outscored the RockHounds, 17-1, over the final 14 innings of the series after falling behind, 3-0, in the fifth inning of the second game.
Springfield outscored Tulsa and Midland, 26-11, while winning four of five postseason games.
COMPLETE CARDINALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
- Cardinals Top 30 prospects
- Prospect stats: Today | Last 10 | Last 30
- Draft pick stats
- Highlights
After kicking off the Cardinals' comeback with an RBI triple on Tuesday night, Leonardo Bernal (STL No. 3/MLB No. 69) drove in three more runs in the finale at Momentum Bank Ballpark. Dakota Harris collected four RBIs, Zach Levenson and Jon Jon Gazdar had four hits apiece and the Cardinals piled up 19 knocks.
Starter Brycen Mautz (STL No. 21) was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst, allowing one run on five hits and two walks while fanning three in six innings to pick up his second postseason win. Austin Love, Hunter Hayes and Zane Mills combined for three scoreless frames of relief to lock up the second league title in franchise history.
More from MLB Pipeline:
• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
The championship was a fitting ending to what was statistically the best season in franchise history. The Cardinals held at least a share of first place (based on overall record) from May 30 onward and finished with a club-record 88 regular-season wins, the third-highest total in the Minors and second-highest at Double-A.
Springfield used a balanced attack during both the regular season and playoffs. The club led the circuit in ERA (3.55), strikeouts (1,324) and average-against (.227). Offensively, the Cards finished third in runs scored (678), stolen bases (181) and fourth in OPS (.714) and homers (118).
Despite having top prospect and Texas League MVP JJ Wetherholt (MLB No. 6) for just 62 games, Springfield also was the home for a bounty of Top 30 prospects -- eight who finished the year on the club's active roster, including 2025 first-rounder Liam Doyle (STL No. 2/MLB No. 33).