Ramstein junior Kelsey Moya watches her throw head to first Friday, May 23, 2025, during the championship game of the DODEA-Europe Division I softball championships at Kaiserslautern, Germany. Moya tossed a no-hitter with nine strikeouts in the Royals' 10-0 victory. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Sometimes, life just doesn’t seem fair.
The two-time defending DODEA-Europe Division I champion Ramstein Royals were already a contender this season with a lineup featuring almost all seniors.
Then Kelsey Moya, a sophomore from Florida, transferred in when her father started working as a contractor a few weeks after the spring sports season began.
Moya pitched a no-hitter Friday as the Royals mercy-ruled Kaiserslautern 10-0 in five innings to win their third straight tourney crown.
Longtime coach Kent Enyeart, retiring from the sport after stints that also included stops in Lakenheath, Wiesbaden and Robert D. Edgren in Japan, smiled when asked if Moya’s dad was hired for his daughter’s softball ability.
“Yeah, you’ll have to investigate that,” he said.
Then, more seriously, he added: “She’s consistent. Every time she’s on the mound, it gives the team confidence.”
Ramstein's Emma Inthavixay slide safely into second before Kaiserslautern's Alessia Garcia can make the tag Friday, May 22, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe Division I softball championships at Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Kaiserslautern pitcher Amanda Garcia tosses the ball to Raiders first baseman Laylah Cole on Friday, May 23, 2025, during the DODEA-Europe Division I softball championsihps at Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Kaiserslautern's Alessia Garcia fouls off a pitch Friday, May 23, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe Divison I softball championships at Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Moya, named the tournament Most Outstanding Player, was credited with nine strikeouts. She hit one batter and another reached on a dropped third strike. Only one Kaiserslautern player reached third base. And Moya ended that threat by coaxing a grounder that she easily fielded and threw to first.
She said her eight senior teammates on the field gave her confidence.
“I don’t feel like I have to strike out everyone because they’re there and we’ll make all the plays we need to,” Moya said.
Friday, she said four of her five pitches were working well. Fortunately for the Raiders, the screwball wasn’t very reliable.
Kaiserslautern didn’t get the ball out of the infield during the game. And a normally reliable defense struggled early, helping Ramstein take a 4-0 lead after an inning.
Ania Edwards’ run-scoring double, an RBI single from Emerson Moriarty and three errors contributed to the scoring.
Ramstein was up 5-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth when the game-winning rally started. Isabella Chambers reached base on an infield single and stole second. Edwards drove her in. Moya singled. One run scored on a groundout. Another on an error. Ilana Johnson drove in another run. When another runner crossed the plate on a groundout the officials eventually declared the game over.
A celebration more subdued than usual then followed.
Enyeart didn’t really want to compare this squad to past ones.
“Every year, the team has a different personality,” he said. “They welcomed in Kelsey when she came in. During the season and the tournament, we had a lot of girls step up.”
Stuttgart defeated Wiesbaden 14-13 in the third-place game.
