That late season Redbird magic is in the air once again.

After a mediocre 48-47 first half the St. Louis Cardinals were struggling, and fans were concerned that it would be another year without October baseball.

“I wasn’t really worried about (the cardinals) early on,” said senior Destiny Hope, who has supported the Cubs since she first visited Wrigley Field in 2006. “St. Louis was never much of a threat.”

And Cardinal skipper Mike Matheny took much of the blame for the Cardinal woes, and he was fired on July 14 before the All-Star break. The Cardinal front office then appointed bench coach Mike Shildt as the interim manager, and so far he has performed.

“Two feet (in the dugout) is a big difference,” Shildt said to the Saint Louis Post Dispatch. “Last year, I was in a situation where I was the quality control coach. I’d be 10 feet away from coaching third and when you had to go coach, it’s like, boy, that’s a big 10 feet.”

Now under Shildt St. Louis finds themselves 14 games over .500 and a record of 8-2 in their last ten games. Since Aug. 1, the Cardinals are 17-4, and the team’s success can be attributed much to first baseman Matt Carpenter, who has made a solid case for National League MVP with his recent performance.

Carpenter caught fire after the All-Star break and is now the NL leader in homeruns with 34, and he has propelled the Cardinals back into the postseason hunt.

With just a month and a half of baseball left, the Redbirds find themselves 2.5 games back in the division, and they now hold the top wild card spot.

“Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina and Jose Martinez have been hitting really well,” junior Weston Slemmer, a member of the EHS baseball team said. “If they keep playing how they are, they have a good chance to do some damage in the playoffs.”