Former Junior Black Sox teammates Jacob Zurcher and Adam Woon were influential figures as Saints won a second consecutive post-Christmas title in Hawke's Bay's premier men's softball competition on Saturday.
Centre outfielder Zurcher hit two automatic home runs and batted four runners in while pitcher Woon smashed an automatic and a double and finished with three RBIs in Saints' 8-1 win against Fast Pitch in the final at Akina Park, Hastings. Woon and Zurcher were both members of the silver medal-winning Junior Black Sox team at their 2016 World Championship in Michigan.
The post-Christmas competition was the first time they had played together since the World Championship as Zurcher took a year off the sport after a stint with the Northcote club in North Harbour. Woon played for the Hutt City United club before Christmas.
Without Zurcher and Woon, Saints, didn't record a win in the pre-Christmas competition. During the post-Christmas comp they had one loss on the way to being top qualifiers for the final.
"We're rapt to go back-to-back. We had a new-look squad this season with some new youngsters as well as older blokes new to the sport who did well to keep the club alive while we were away," Woon said.