Saints cannot field a premier team after a raft of departures and the Central Otago Panthers have also opted out, leaving just Cardinals and Dodgers.
The two teams will not have to play each other every week, though.
They will join the four teams in Southland in a pre-Christmas competition and, if the new format works out, will travel through to Invercargill every other week in the new year.
Softball has been in decline since the late 1980s. In 1989, there were 42 senior teams.
That number had fallen to just 17 teams last season.
This year, there are eight senior reserve teams, two colts teams and the two surviving premier teams.
From the outside, the sport appears to be withering away.
However, Otago Softball Association (OSA) chairman and Dodgers coach Aran Bailey said the sport was in a ''rebuilding phase''.
There was strong interest at the grass-roots level but he acknowledged the sport was struggling at the elite level.
''To be honest, it is disappointing that we are down to two [premier teams] but there is rebuilding going on,'' Bailey said.
''Just to summarise the issue, we have a couple of quite big drop-off points.
''We have very high numbers of T-ballers but there is a big drop off in the transition from T-ball to junior softball. That is mainly because we have not really got the intermediates on board with junior softball.
''And then you get the same thing when junior softballers go off to high school. What happens when they get to high school is a lot of schools put a lot of resources into cricket and other summer sports, but the softball resources aren't there. So again you get a drop-off at that age group.''
The OSA appointed Michael Coutts as a development manager earlier this month and he is tasked with turning the sport around.
There are about 1000 registered softballers and T-ballers in Dunedin, which Bailey said was a good base to work from.
''We are wanting to get into all those intermediate schools, all the secondary schools and make sure that we try to improve the playing opportunities for girls and eventually looked to rebuild the women's game as well.''
With the Japanese hoping to include a women's softball competition at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the women's game could take on extra significance.
''Softball New Zealand and the associations are gearing for the women's game to be big,'' Bailey said.
''Obviously, the men have an issue at the moment, but there is a lot of work going on at the foundation's level.''
The fact premier softball has dropped down to two teams should not come as a huge surprise.
Ellis Park pulled out last season and was replaced by the Central Otago Panthers.
But Panthers had to default games and eventually pulled out midway through the season.
Saints struggled with numbers at the beginning of last season as well, so their departure was not unexpected either.
Bailey believes a combined Dunedin and Invercargill competition makes sense and both associations have committed to three rounds but will re-evaluate after that.
''We are also hoping to build the reserve grade. Some of the teams from there are quite competitive and have put their hand up to play the prem teams as well in a handicapped game.''
Bailey said the reserve grade teams would start each innings with a player on second base.
''We'll review it as the season goes, but hopefully it will make it more of a defensive challenge for the existing prem teams and provide some good opportunities for the reserve grades to expand their offensive skills.''
