Cardinals reward student with postseason tickets

ST. LOUIS -- As a reward for good behavior and good grades, Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter surprised a student at St. Louis' Lift for Life Academy with tickets to Game 1 of the Cardinals' National League Division Series. The Cardinals open postseason play at Busch Stadium on Friday against the Pirates or Cubs at 5:30 p.m. CT on TBS.

Posing as the school's principal, Carpenter called the student to his office, then congratulated him on being nominated by his teachers to receive the postseason tickets. Carpenter also presented the student with a personalized jersey and postseason hat.

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"To be able to come here into a school and see the smiles you can put on kids' faces and the excitement that they get from seeing a Major League Baseball player and getting to spend time with them, and just the overall enjoyment I could see in the faces of his family that was here today, it was just a real cool moment," Carpenter said.

The same scene played out at several schools across the country as various students were rewarded with postseason tickets to see their hometown teams play.