KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The Kaiserslautern softball team likely has heard the adage, “Offense wins games, defense wins championships.”
Hard not to as an athlete or a sports fan, as it has become a cliche.
But maybe the 2023 Raiders can have both.
In Saturday’s doubleheader against Vilseck at home, the Raiders displayed both aspects. In the opener, Kaiserslautern committed zero errors in a 7-3 win over the Falcons. In the second game, the Raiders swatted their way to a 24-12 over the defending Division I European champion.
“Having a nice offense with our defense definitely is a plus,” said Kaiserslautern senior Aries Garrett, who went 6 for 7 at the plate across both contests and picked up the win in the later game. “That was a big part of our win today.
“Even though our defense was struggling a little bit (in the second game), we were confident enough that we could come back by using our offense.”
The Raiders (13-0 overall, 10-0 in Division I) needed the offense in the back end of the twin bill, as the defense had five errors over the first four innings. Those errors played a role in the Falcons (9-4, 4-4) doubling their output from the first game over that span (three to seven).
It was a stark contrast to the morning game, during which Kaiserslautern pulled off a double play from a Lily Bravo grounder to shortstop Xin Ai Robinson, who flipped the ball to Selam Foery before the second baseman fired to first. That double play helped Kaiserslautern nurse a one-run lead in the fifth inning before the host pulled away.
In the afternoon, the Raiders bats came alive in the third, scoring three in that inning and then batting around in the fourth to take a 10-7 lead. They also went through the lineup again in an 11-run sixth inning.
“We’ve played very solid defense for most of the season,” Kaiserslautern coach Zac Robinson said. “Today we had moments where we struggled, and I think we lost a little focus in that second game.
“But when we have our offense having good at-bats, getting good swings and putting the ball in play, it’s huge because it just makes things happen.”
The Raider hit parade stretched across all ends of the lineup. Sure, Garrett had four extra-base hits (three triples and a double) from the No. 3 spot in both games and went 4 of 4 with 3 RBI in Game 2, and Foery, as the No. 2 hitter, added a pair of triples, a double and three RBI.
But even the bottom of the lineup contributed. Layla Cole didn’t play in the opener and was inserted for the second game, and the sophomore left fielder sparked Kaiserslautern’s seven-run fourth, driving in the first run with a single to left field with the bases loaded.
What made the offense explosion impressive was it came against Bravo, who as a freshman played a key role in the Falcons’ title-winning run.
“We’ve worked extremely hard on preparing ourselves to hit the best pitching around,” Robinson said. “We know we’re not always going to hit it, but we try to play with a positive approach, the idea of, ‘Hey, we’re going to put the barrel on the ball, square it up and hit the ball somewhere.’”
The Falcons, meanwhile, are coming off a pair of weekends in which they have been swept by the top teams in Division I in Ramstein and Kaiserslautern.
Prior to the sixth inning of Saturday’s second game, Vilseck showed it could hang with both, having lost to the Royals twice by one run and trailing by five runs to the Raiders at that point.
Bravo hit a wall, however, and couldn’t go any longer in the circle. Thus, Vilseck coach Cathleen Burgess said, the Falcons’ lack of depth came into play, with just 10 players making the trip.
Reinforcements are on the way, as a few players weren’t available on Saturday. Between that and the performances in the last four games, Burgess said the Falcons will contend to defend their title on May 18-20 in the Kaiserslautern Military Community.
“I think we can do well in the tournament,” she said. “We got to rest a little bit, and we got a couple of players who weren’t here today. Hopefully with a full team, we’ll be ready to go.”
Saturday’s sweep means the Raiders have taken care of both Ramstein and Vilseck, two teams along with Wiesbaden that they highlighted before the season. And while the team has one more weekend before the business end begins, the players can take pride in their performances against those opponents, Garrett said.
“Ramstein and Vilseck were the teams that we were really serious about playing,” she said. “Beating them feels like an accomplishment.”
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