Naples freshman Ari Lopez struck out nine batters in three innings and didn’t allow a hit as the Wildcats defeated Aviano 21-3 in the opener of a doubleheader Saturday, April 13, 2024. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – In an effort to try to instill discipline, baseball and softball coaches are often heard telling their players that a walk is a good as a hit.

In Saturday’s softball game between Naples and Aviano, a walk was almost as good as a run. The Saints, in fact, proved you don’t need to hit to score, crossing the plate eight times before registering their first hit in the doubleheader. Unfortunately for Aviano, a lot more Wildcats reached base – and thus scored - on the day.

Naples, the two-time defending DODEA-Europe Division II/III champion, won 21-3 and 19-11 to stay perfect on the season.

Due to stolen bases, passed balls and wild pitches, players who reached first could have just saved time by then skipping second and third and just touching home plate. More than 77 percent of the runners who reached first – via walk, hit, error or even striking out – came around to score in the opener. That number only dipped slightly to 75 percent in the second game, mostly because two Aviano runners were tagged out at home and another at third. The Saints stranded only a single player in four innings.

That miniscule left-on-base percentage wasn’t much consolation to Aviano coach Jordan Gurganus.

“What did we do well?” she asked rhetorically while scanning her scorebook. “Not much.”

Saints junior left-hander Sophia Scavo had a rough day on the mound, walking 25 batters in stints in both games.

“She’s trying too much to throw strikes on every pitch,” Gurganus said.

That could be an attempt to get every out herself, Gurganus said. The Saints committed 10 errors behind her in the two games and perhaps looked shakier than that. They didn’t record an out Scavo didn’t have a hand in until Jazmyn Warren successfully fielded a grounder at first to open the final inning of the day.

One positive Gurganus did point out was Scavo’s play in the field and at the plate. She recorded outs from the mound and at first and shortstop when not pitching and got Aviano’s first hit of the day – an inside-the-park home run in the third inning of the second game – and followed that later with a grand slam.

Aviano junior left-hander Sophia Scavo hurls the ball toward the plate in the opening inning of Aviano’s 21-3 loss to Naples on Saturday, April 13, 2024. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

Naples’ Ann Gose takes a swing at a high pitch during the Wildcats’ 21-3 victory over Aviano in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday, April 13, 2024. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

Aviano shortstop Jazmyn Warren throws towards first place Saturday, April 13, 2024, in the Saints’ doubleheader loss to the Naples Wildcats. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

Naples junior Anna Gose provided a change of pace for the Wildcats, picking up the win in the second game of a doubleheader against the Aviano Saints. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

Naples’ Ari Lopez starred on the mound and at the plate Saturday, April 13, 2024, driving in four runs in the Wildcats’ 19-11 victory in the second game of a doubleheader after throwing a three-inning no-hitter in the opener. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

Gurganus’ list of not-so-goods definitely included not making contact against Naples freshman Ari Lopez, who struck out nine batters and didn’t allow a single hit in three innings of work in the first game. She did walk three batters in the first inning and that, of course, meant they all scored Saturday.

But Naples had already tallied nine runs of its own in the top of the inning. And nine more in the second and three more in the third meant the game was over due to DODEA’s three-inning, 15-run margin mercy rule.

Lopez, who hails from San Diego, has been playing the sport since she was 4 and pitching since she was 8. She scored every time she batted in the opener, including an inside-the-park home run in the second inning. She played first base in the second game and scored three more times and drove in four runs.

It was part of an offensive effort that had Naples coach Amy Driscoll in an upbeat mood.

“We hit the ball better today than we have all season,” she said.

Despite a 4-0 mark to open the season, Driscoll said she doesn’t want to talk yet about the season-ending championships in May. She points out that she’s got only two returners from last year’s team and starts three freshmen.

“When we get to the tournament, the [regular] season doesn’t mean anything,” she said, adding with a smile: “I say that every year, because it’s true.”