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.
