The Cardinals had missed out on first-round action due to inclement weather, while Chiefs had fallen to premiers Berkeley Eagles. But the Cardinals took centre stage in round two on Saturday, winning 22-5, as the Eagles showdown with Northern Pirates had been postponed.

A scoreless first innings saw both sides feel each other out, but after Chiefs scored first with a single run in the second, the Cardinals' batters unleashed with six against starting pitcher Bailey Van Leewen. More was to come for Cards. After trading single runs in the third and three runs in the fourth, before the Red Bird hitters ran riot belting 12 unanswered runs in the fifth innings from eight hits and four walks.

This was led by Cards' Dean Kontopolous and Jeremy Bec, both hitting 3/4 including two RBI's and three RBIs respectively.

Cardinals' second baseman Matt Cole also shone with four RBIs and hit 2/4 overall. For Chiefs only veteran Mitch Thompson (2/3) and Ethan Teixeira (2/4) had multi-hit games as well as gaining more than half of their sides total hits. 

Cardinals' 2016 grand final winning pitcher and MVP Scott Sartori did not pitch the entire 2017 season due to a shoulder injury, but returned to throw three scoreless innings for three strike outs and just one hit for a strong performance on the mound.

His teammates will certainly be happy to see this good start from Sartori who now boast a long list of pitching options for the season which will be an important part of their effort to dethrone Berkeley in the hunt for the first grade title.

Cardinals now face a big test against premiers the Eagles, a repeat of the 2017 grand final match up.