A father-and-son combination inspired the Cardinals to a rare win in the Dunedin club competition on Saturd
Seventeen-year-old Kaikorai Valley College pupil Joshua Ludlow got his first win as he pitched the Cardinals to an 8-4 upset of the Saints.
It was the first win for the club since February 28, when it broke a 15-game losing streak by upsetting the Saints 5-4.
What made it even more special for the rising Ludlow on Saturday was the combination he struck up with his catcher - his father, Cardinals player-coach Mark (50).
Glenn Forrester has started this season behind the plate but Ludlow senior had his turn on Saturday.
Joshua Ludlow made a rough start, coughing up three runs in the first inning, but he recovered beautifully to pitch five scoreless innings out of the next six.
The game was in the balance going into the seventh, with the Cardinals holding a 5-4 lead highlighted by a Doug Hill home run in the fourth.
Forrester and Richard Hunt chipped singles off Sam Jones and were batted in by a Mark Ludlow double.
Ludlow then scored, and after the change of inning, he watched his son concede a Mike Crowley double before retiring three Saints batters in a row.
It was back to reality with a thump in the late game for the Cardinals as they were beaten 8-1 by the Dodgers.
Brendan Taylor and Jamie Robinson both had triples off the pitching of Forrester as the Dodgers scored three runs in the first inning, and Ricky Boebel scored after his own triple in the third.
It was 4-1 Dodgers through four innings and the new competition leaders flexed their muscles in the fifth and final inning as seven consecutive batters got on base through hitting relief pitcher Steven Todd or being walked.
Sam Jones pitched a one-hit shutout through seven immaculate innings as the Saints clobbered Ellis Park 6-0 in the third game.
Jones had seven strike-outs and the solitary hit he conceded was a Scott Dundass single in the final inning.
Saturday's games were the last for the year for most of the students in the various Dunedin teams who do not return until February.
