Kaiserslautern American
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Ramstein hitting on all cylinders
Nemo Kindle is one of just two seniors on the current Ramstein roster. The youthful Royals are in first place with two weekends left in the regular season. Photo by Stephanie LeClair
by Thomas Warner contributing writer Anchored by a two-hit pitching shutout from Kaleb Bellew in the opener, Ramstein swept a baseball doubleheader over Spangdahlem last weekend. The scores were 16-0 and 15-6, leaving Ramstein as the DODEA Division I frontrunKaiserslautern boys split with Stuttgart A big inning delivered a win for Kaiserslautern as they took game two and managed a split with Stuttgart this past Friday. Kaiserslautern (9-5) plays again this weekend on the road at Vicenza, before ending the regular season in two weeks versus rival Ramstein. The Raiders got three of their five total hits in a fourth-inning outburst that saw them get 13 batters to the plate. Walks, passed balls, a hit batsman, and a balk were coupled with those three Raider hits. Just a week ago, it was the Kaiserslautern defense that had to similarly endure in a loss to Lakenheath. Ronin Sherman and Kaden Sekbeil combined to strike out six batters and limit Stuttgart to just four hits. Sherman and four other Raiders produced singles, with Mathias Perrin scoring twice in the win. The Raiders were winning early in the opener but lost 5-2 against the homestanding Panthers. Stuttgart scored four times in the third inning and held on for a victory. The Panthers’
ner with two weekends of baseball remaining. Ramstein plays at Lakenheath this weekend, then at Kaiserslautern to end the regular season prior to the Europeans tournament. “Kaleb has some good off-speed breaking ball stuff that he throws and his fastball was working in that first game,” said Ramstein head
coach Travis Shoffner. “The more games our team plays, I think they are growing a lot both experiencewise and mentally. We’ve improved a lot since we first started.” Bellew recorded 10 strikeouts and was masterful with his game management. Senior standout Nemo Kindle had a triple and a double among his three hits. Nathan Kranz
bats produced only a single and a double, but the biggest element was a pair of KHS infielding errors that kept the door open. Nolan Sherman and Stuttgart pitcher Gabe Simpson each threw well, with Sherman allowing only three hits and Simpson giving up two to the Raiders. George Stephan’s double and Nolan Sherman’s single were notable KHS contributions.
Olivia Warren had two hits and Chloe robbed a Stuttgart player of a homer with an amazing play in the outfield where she caught the ball against the fence, but the Lady Raiders had little of the hitting production they’d seen earlier.
SOFTBALL Lady Raiders break even with Stuttgart Ally Alamos pitched for the 13-11 first game win, striking out three and walking two. She was also 4-of-5 batting with five runs batted in while twin sisters Chloe and Phoenix Wisennand each had two hits and it was a home run by Phoenix that helped push KHS to the win, after they trailed 11-1. The second game saw a great effort by Abby Young on the hill, with seven strikeouts over five innings of work. Home runs by Victoria Jackson and Mariana Conklin were not enough, though, as nearly all of the rest of the bats went cold.
Ramstein girls dominate Spangdahlem Abby Walker made plenty of noise at the plate in a 17-2 softball win for Ramstein. Normally the team’s starting pitcher, Walker had three hits Abby Walker and three runs batted in to help keep Ramstein undefeated in Tom Wright’s first season as head coach. Abigail Hollenbeck was the pitching starter for Ramstein in this one, throwing into the third inning when the game was finally halted. The Lady Royal offense was potent be hind her, bombarding the visiting
May 11, 2018 had two hits and two stolen bases as Ramstein piled up 12 hits. Chris Guzaldo and Tieran Shoffner also had two hits and combined to score seven runs. Kindle had five runs batted in, mainly with his extra-base hits, and Caleb Love produced two RBI. Love and Kimble were the lone graduating senior players honored Saturday, as RHS continues to win with a young roster. In the second game, Ramstein had the lead from the start then scored 11 times in the fourth inning to clinch it. Spangdahlem countered with a five-run rally in the bottom of the fourth but RHS sophomore Chandler Baker came in and needed just four pitches to end the game. Guzaldo scored four times, with two hits and two walks, while Shoffner had five RBI thanks to two hits including a double. Austin Rodefer and Oliver Seelig each had two hits with a triple and two RBI, plus Bellew rapped two hits to support mound starter Kindle. Kindle, the Royals’ usual second game starter, threw 46 pitches and gave up only two hits, striking out five Sentinels and walking only one. Relievers Kelty Hood and Baker were brought in later but Ramstein was never really challenged throughout the pair of midday games. Ramstein will travel to the United Kingdom this weekend and play Lakenheath, the program they met in last year’s Euro finals. Spangdahlem squad with 11 hits and 10 walks drawn, while never striking out. Hollenbeck threw 64 pitches and located nearly 40 percent of them for strikes. She gave up only two hits and she walked six Lady Sentinel batters. Walker had a single, double and a triple among her three at-bats and joined Isabel Craige with three RBIs. Azure Agricula also had a triple, combining with Sydney Smith for four RBI in the runaway victory. Savannah Sparrow contributed two hits and scored three times for Ramstein. The Lady Royals were set to join their RHS baseball counterparts, as well as the school’s two soccer programs, in heading up to England for doubleheader games against Lakenheath this weekend. TRACK AND FIELD Ramstein boys, girls joust with Stuttgart at weekend meet Ramstein and Stuttgart volleyed back and forth at last weekend’s Stuttgart Invitational track and field meet. Ramstein’s boys wound up well