The dawn of the 2014-15 premier men's club season has thrown up an interesting addition and a potentially worrying defection - or two.
Excitement at the arrival of the Central Otago Panthers to the competition has been offset by the inability of the Saints and Ellis Park clubs to field teams on opening day.
Losing one of the established clubs would be a blow; losing two would be crippling to the sport.
The clubs were meeting this weekend to look at the possibility of fielding a combined team, Otago Softball Association operations manager Jill Johnson said.
''They're just really struggling for numbers at this stage,'' Johnson said.
''Both have lost players overseas or to work commitments or various other things. It's possible they may look at combining their resources to make a team, and we're anxious to facilitate anything we can to keep those players involved.''
Saints stalwart Tim Howard and Ellis Park star Ryan Williams are two of the players to have headed overseas.
A three-team competition will be workable, though it will mean only one team getting a Saturday double-header. That was another issue to discuss, Johnson said.
''We've had some feedback from people that softball, like cricket, is just too much of a commitment for some people these days.
''It's a real tricky one for us. Lots want to have two games. But having a double-header means being at the park from noon till about 6pm every Saturday. That's a big commitment.''
Dodgers won both the regular season and the Champions Cup - after a titanic battle with Cardinals that went to two tiebreaker innings - last year, but will be without two star men for most of this summer.
Jamie Robinson is taking a break, and ace pitcher Ben Watts is only playing a couple of rounds before he moves to Christchurch. Watts was utterly dominant on the mound last summer and replacing him will be a big ask for youngsters Jake Burtenshaw and Nelson Yorston.
Dodgers will rely heavily on the other Watts boys, Cam and Matt, and the multitalented Hoani Iva-Keen, while a newcomer is Jack Rennie, from Nelson.
Cardinals are looking for big things from their younger brigade, led by outstanding batting prospect Mitchell Finnie and rising pitcher Jacob Wedlock.
The likes of Hayden Carey, Christian Amos, Hamish Lewis and former Otago Boys' High School player Sam Bull should also contribute, while Glenn Forrester, Doug Hill, Grant Phillips and Lyall Scott will provide their talent and leadership.
Big losses for Cardinals are home run king Crete Whaanga and the versatile Corey Parker, both of whom are out with work commitments, but Riki Washington will be back after taking a summer off.
The wildcard is the Central Otago side. The Panthers played in Southland last season but have decided to join the Otago competition as some of their players have come to Dunedin for tertiary studies.
Coach Paul Kahukura and a handful of Dunstan High School pupils will travel from Alexandra every Saturday.
Key players for the Panthers include third baseman Josh Kahukura, first baseman Jake Hansen and pitcher Devon Robinson, all of who played for the Southland senior team last summer.
While the premier grade is facing a numbers crisis, a positive for Otago softball is that reserve grade has increased by two teams.
