There was joy for Dodgers and heartbreak for Saints as the premier club competition produced its game of the season on Saturday.
Dodgers scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pip Saints 8-7.
Saints had scored three in the top of the inning, the key play a two-run homer from Oliver King.
Saints could sniff their third win of the season, and still led 7-6 after Jonathon Guildford scored on a sacrifice fly for Dodgers in the final inning.
Dodgers trailed by one with two men out, but came up with the clutch plays. Cam Watts scored on a Hoani Iva-Keen triple, and Iva-Keen scored the winning run on a Matt Watts single.
Earlier, Saints had led 2-0 after a two-run Michael Crowley homer, and then 4-3 after a second Crowley blast out of the park. Iva-Keen's two-RBI double for Dodgers was the other major play of the game before the eventful final inning.
The three other games were one-sided, with an average winning margin of over 10 runs.
Cardinals maintained their perfect (8-0) start to the season with big wins over Saints (12-3) and the Central Otago Panthers (15-1).
Christian Amos whacked an RBI double and Grant Phillips belted a two-run homer to give Cardinals the early momentum against Saints, who fought back to 3-3 after a two-RBI single from Mitchell O'Neill.
It was all Cardinals after that. Mark Christian smacked a two-run homer but most of the rest of the runs were scored on errors.
Cardinals pitcher Jacob Wedlock gave up five walks but also had seven strikeouts as he held Saints to two hits.
The Panthers did well to hold Cardinals scoreless through the first two innings but then collapsed in the third, conceding 12 runs.
Mitchell Finnie started the rout with a three-run homer, Glenn Forrester had a two-RBI double, Hayden Carey had a two-RBI single, Riki Washington had a two-run homer and Christian Amos capped the frenzied inning with a two-RBI triple.
Washington added a run-scoring double in the fourth inning as Cardinals maintained their winning streak.
Dodgers maintained second place with a 12-3 win over the Panthers.
The Central Otago side scored three runs in a first inning highlighted by an inside-the-park home run to Will Meehan, but Dodgers soon flexed their muscles. Cam Watts led the charge with a two-RBI triple and a solo homer.
