Last beat first in the upset of the season in Dunedin premier
club softball on Saturday.
The Cardinals have struggled all summer, losing all 12 of
their games before Christmas and starting the second leg of
the season with three consecutive losses, while the Saints
have been in a three-way tussle at the top.
But the Cardinals dug deep for something special on Saturday
and conjured up a 6-5 win through five innings.
The Saints took a predictable 2-0 lead after the first, with
Michael Crowley (base on balls) and Tim Howard (single)
scoring, but the Cardinals quickly scored two of their own
runs at the top of the second.
A Howard triple led to more runs for both him and Crowley at
the bottom of the second, but again the Cardinals immediately
replied, getting Glenn Forrester and Ben Steele home at the
top of the third.
The Saints took a 5-4 lead into the fifth inning before the
Cardinals moved ahead with only one man out in the fifth.
Two quick strike-outs ended the innings and all eyes returned
to the Saints.
Forrester was on the Cardinals mound in the final inning and
watched as Mitchell O'Neill hit a sacrifice bunt to get
Lachie Brenssell, the game-tying run, to third base.
When Forrester walked Michael King, it looked like game over
for the Cardinals.
But Forrester got Sam Jones out and then struck out Michael
Wilson to win the game.
Earlier, the Cardinals had been thumped 14-4 by the Dodgers
after conceding 13 runs in the first three innings.
The Dodgers capitalised on errors and made consistent hits
through the first two innings, then got a boost in the third
when Wayne Sangster scored a three-run homer.
The Cardinals rallied with four runs at the top of the
fourth.
In the day's final game, the Saints bounced back from their
shock loss to score seven runs in the final inning in a 8-3
win against Ellis Park.
The game was in the balance with Ellis Park leading 2-1
through six before the Saints' offence exploded.
Brenssell tripled and both Wilson and Michael O'Neill hit
home runs to crush Ellis Park's hopes.
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