John Bennett logged on to eBay without high hopes, but less than a week later, he was standing in Busch Stadium watching the St. Louis Cardinals take on the New York Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

Bennett, a freshman from Decatur, Ala., has one passion in life: baseball.

“I love everything about it,” he said. “I could play baseball every day of the week.”

Bennett’s parents encouraged him to pursue sports from an early age. His mother, Sherry, played basketball for Western in the early 1980s. As a result, he has loved sports his entire life. He played baseball throughout his elementary, middle and high school years.

In high school, Bennett played second base. His teammate Bailey Hardwick said Bennett was an outstanding athlete.

“John’s a hard-nosed player,” Hardwick said. “He’s really competitive and doesn’t like to lose.”

Now that he’s in college, Bennett said he doesn’t play baseball often. He played intramural softball but said it wasn’t the same.

Bennett watches baseball on television to make up for not being able to play. His favorite team, the Chicago Cubs, didn’t make the playoffs, so he started pulling for the Cardinals in the postseason.

Bennett and a few friends gather in Louisville freshman Jason Garvey’s dorm room to watch the major league playoff games. Garvey said he can tell Bennett is passionate about baseball just by hanging out with him.

“He’s really fun to be around,” he said. “He gets into the games, especially when there’s a big play.”

Bennett said he was watching Game 4 of the division series between St. Louis and the San Diego Padres in Garvey’s dorm room when he decided to bid on two $60, standing-room-only tickets for the Oct. 14 game.

To his surprise, he won the bid. He made the four-hour drive to St. Louis six days later. There, he rode his first train, someone bent his car’s antenna to a 45-degree angle and he kept walking at the wrong time at crosswalks.

But when Bennett got to the stadium, he felt at home. He found his spot on a platform behind the left field fence and watched the Cardinals beat the Mets 5-0.

“Getting to see the game was great,” he said. “Even though it wasn’t the Cubs, I knew just seeing the playoffs would be a good game.”

Bennett won’t get to watch the World Series from the stadium this week, but said he will be rooting for the Cardinals via TV in Garvey’s dorm room. He wouldn’t miss it for anything.

Reach Ashley Maines at features@wkuherald.com.