Stung by a rare loss last weekend, Saints confirmed their No 1 status with wins over Ellis Park (9-2) and Cardinals (7-4) as the regular season came to a close.
They will play Cardinals this Saturday, with the winning team progressing straight to the finals. The loser will get a life, and face the winner of the Dodgers v Ellis Park clash for a place in the finals.
There will be a gap next week, as even softballers this far south will have their eyes glued to the television to see if the Black Sox can regain their world title on the North Shore. The Dunedin finals (best of three) are set for March 16.
The Saints-Ellis Park clash on Saturday was scoreless through two innings before the Saints line-up ripped into action.
A six-run third inning featured two RBI singles, a Michael Crowley double that scored two runners, and a booming three-run Tim Howard homer.
Ellis Park scored twice off wild pitches in the top of the sixth, before Conor O'Neill iced Saints' win with a three-run homer of his own.
Howard was again a major contributor against Cardinals, whacking a two-RBI double as Saints took a 3-0 lead after two innings. Runs were shared evenly among the teams after that.
Cardinals, who beat Saints in last year's final, showed their offensive capabilities with a 12-5 win over Dodgers.
A Hoani Iva-Keen RBI double and a Mitchell Finnie RBI single gave Cardinals a 5-0 lead, before Dodgers fought back with a Tom Snow double and a two-RBI Corey Wilson single.
Snow added an RBI double to level the scores, but Cardinals resumed control by scoring three runs in the fourth inning and four in the fifth. Their highlight was a two-RBI Hayden Carey triple.
Dodgers made a cracking start in their 14-7 win over Ellis Park, scoring five runs in the first inning. Jeremy Rei was the star with an RBI triple.
Ellis Park sparked into action with three runs in each of the second and third innings, before Dodgers poured in four runs in the fourth. Rei hit an RBI single, before Cam Watts belted a solo home run in the sixth to make the game secure.
