Naples' Raegan Rygh slides safely into second as Aviano shortstop Alivia Adams grabs the ball before making the tag Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – Adventure, unpredictability and sometimes general confusion.
Many small-school softball games in DODEA-Europe allow players, coaches and spectators to enjoy an array of emotions not only over the course of a game but sometimes during a single play.
And Naples senior Emily Anderson wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Wildcats’ star catcher started playing the sport 11 years ago in Virginia. Take away a few teammates, and that just about matches the total experience of the rest of the starting lineup.
“Really, it’s just a joy to watch them learn to play and start to enjoy the sport as much as I do,” Anderson said after helping the Wildcats to 18-2 and 18-14 victories over the host Aviano Saints on Saturday.
Anderson drove in four runs in the first game as the Saints suffered through a nightmare first inning. She then homered in the second game as the Wildcats won what could be called a slugfest. Or a battle to see which team could make the fewest mistakes, depending on one’s point of view. Naples actually lost that by committing 11 errors to the Saints’ seven but won anyway.
“We still have some fundamentals to work on,” Wildcats coach Kristine Rostance said. “We made some silly errors. But I thought we hit the ball well and ran the bases well.”
The day started off in ominous fashion for the Saints as the first 16 Wildcat batters reached base. The first 14 scored. Two batters came to the plate three times. Aviano committed seven errors.
After that, though, as Saints’ coach Moriah Barthold pointed out, it was only a two-run difference rest of the way until the game ended after four innings.
And the second game couldn’t have started off better for the Saints.
Naples' Savannah Ingram delivers against Aviano on Saturday, April 11, 2026, during a doubleheader at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano third baseman Michal Barthold gets set to throw across the infield to Clara Young at first base Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples' Emily Anderson fouls off a pitch Saturday, April 11, 2026 in a game against Aviano. The Wildcat senior had a big day, catching both games and driving in six runs in her team's two victories. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano second baseman Luna Arce Weiser tries to catch a popup Saturday, April 11, 2026, in a game against Naples at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples third baseman Claire Olsen makes the throw to first base while the Aviano Saints watch from the dugout Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples’ pitcher Savannah Ingram and shortstop Carolyn Walker traded places to open the game. Walker made her pitching debut to try to get some experience and take some work off Ingram. She got a feel for what the Aviano starter in the opener, Bailee Gilbert, felt like as the Saints started hitting and the Wildcats stopped fielding – at least cleanly. Seven errors contributed to a nine-run inning that had Saints fans hopeful.
That hope dampened a bit in the bottom of the inning as Naples tied the game. With the bases loaded, Jules Innocenti drilled a pitch that went through the infield and then the outfield untouched. All four runners scored.
In the second, Ingram returned to the mound. And run-scoring doubles from Ingram and Walker and Anderson’s two-run home run to deep right-center field in the bottom of the inning put the Wildcats ahead to stay.
Barthold, whose team returned four starters from a year ago, said she saw several positives. And that anyone who overlooks the Saints this season could be in for a surprise.
“We have a lot of young players who soak up everything we have to tell them,” she said. “Watch out for us.”
Meanwhile, the Wildcats improved to 4-0 on the season. Still ahead are meetings with Sigonella and Vicenza, which both entered weekend play without a loss.
Anderson said she’s looking forward to playing those games.
Naples, which didn’t make the championship game a season ago for the first time in years, hosts the defending champion Cougars to end the regular season before the championships in the Kaiserslautern Military Community on May 18-20.
“I have a lot of friends on (Vicenza) and playing against them is always fun,” she said.
Before then, though, there’s plenty of room for adventure, unpredictability and maybe a bit less confusion.
