The road to Championship Saturday was filled with upsets and thrilling finishes in this year's Major National playoffs.

In the opening playoff game at Community Park last weekend, the 5th place Marlins nipped the 4th place Phillies 5-3, holding on after jumping out to a 3-run lead in the first inning. The Phillies fought hard to the end, putting the winning run on base in the last inning before the Marlins closed them out.

The next game at Community Park was a game for the ages. The Dodgers led 2-1 against the 2nd place Reds going into the bottom of the 6th inning. With two outs the Reds tied the score forcing extra innings. The two teams went back-and-forth over the next three innings, with rallies threatened and stopped on both sides. Then, finally, in the top of the 9th inning, with the crowd at the edge of their lawn chairs and folding seats, the Dodgers broke through to take a two-run lead. But the Reds weren't done. They loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, the crowd now standing and cheering itself hoarse, only to finally relent as dusk settled over the field.

In the nightcap under the lights, the first-place Braves beat a tough Mets team 4-0 in a hard-fought battle that featured strong defense and pitching by both teams.

Meanwhile, over at Stewart Field, the Giants scored two runs in the top of the 6th inning to edge ahead of the 3rd place Cardinals 2-1, only to have the Cardinals return the favor in their last at-bat in the bottom of the 6th, scoring two runs to pull out a 3-2 victory.

The semifinal round games on Tuesday evening pitting the Dodgers against the Cardinals and the Braves against the Marlins were equally well-played and exciting. The Dodgers were the Cinderella team, and after their thrilling extra-inning game in the opening round they gave it a good fight but came up short to a great Cardinal pitching performance in a 5-0 loss. In the late game, the Marlins again jumped out to a lead and behind the stellar pitching of Christian Capozzi built it to a 4-2 advantage going into the bottom of the 6th inning. The Braves dug deep and mounted a rally in their last bat, scoring three runs, the last on a drive to the outfield by Brian Pearn, to pull out an improbable 5-4 victory.

So, it's the Braves vs. the Cardinals in Championship Saturday's featured game at 7:45 PM at Community Park. Come on out and cheer them on. Based on what we've seen so far in the Major National playoffs, it promises to be a night full of thrills and great baseball.