Hohenfels' Matheo Reyes watches his pitch fly toward home in the opening game of a doubleheader between the Tigers and the Aviano Saints on Saturday, March 22, 2025. Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes (Kent Harris/Stars and Stirpes)
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – Saturday didn’t exactly scream, “Play Ball!”
The field was wet before the Hohenfels Tigers and Aviano Saints started to play baseball. And it didn’t get any drier as the day alternated between a steady drizzle and a gloomy mist.
But in the world of DODEA-Europe spring sports, you play when you can. Especially when one team has traveled the equivalent of a full day’s work to get there. And the other has less than 10 games scheduled before the season-ending championships.
“We take what we can get,” Saints coach Ben DuBenion said.
What each team got Saturday was a doubleheader that featured a combined nine innings that saw 40 runners cross the plate, more than a few of them with red clay clinging to their uniforms if they had to slide along the way.
The Saints, playing their first games of the season, salvaged a split with a 21-9 victory after the Tigers – in just their second weekend of play – won the opener 9-1.
Hohenfels’ Aiden Boyle gets set to corral an errant throw as Aviano’s Cristiano Peterson slides safely into home during a doubleheader split between the two teams on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano coach Joshua Fannin tries to keep a somewhat soggy baseball field in playable condition between games at a doubleheader between the Saints and visiting Hohenfels Tigers on Saturday, March 22, 2025. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano’s Bryle Hillis fouls off a pitch Saturday, March 22, 2025, in a doubleheader between the Saints and visiting Hohenfels Tigers. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano’s Cristiano Peterson got the victory in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday, March 22, 2025, between the Saints and visiting Hohenfels Tigers after playing behind the plate in the opener. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Hohenfels pitcher Sawyer Baxter tosses the ball toward home Saturday, March 22, 2025, in a doubleheader against the host Aviano Saints in Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Game 1 starter Alex Cereceres gets set to deliver a pitch in the Aviano Saints’ 9-1 defeat at the hands of the Hohenfels Tigers on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Hohenfels’ Bronson Jackson takes a swing in the opening game of a doubleheader between the Tigers and the Aviano Saints on Saturday, March 22, 2025. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Not a lot of moments will be shared at Cooperstown. More than half the Saints are either freshman or never have played baseball before (or both). The Tigers are a bit more experienced with four players returning from last year’s squad.
There were some highlights. Hohenfels’ Matheo Reyes had three hits and cleared the outfield fence with a home run in the first game. Aviano’s Cristiano Peterson drove in two runs with a solid triple to right center in the second game.
But plenty of baserunners reached first without hitting the ball out of the infield. And even more advanced after striking out when a throw from the catcher failed to beat them to first base.
Hohenfels coach Robert Deverick said it’s all part of the process.
“The more games you can play, the better,” he said. “It’s developing ability. It’s building confidence. Teamwork. Leadership. And there’s not a lot of games to do it in.”
Hohenfels dominated from the start in the opener, scoring five times in the first inning. Peterson, who has by far the most experience playing for the Saints, scored his team’s only run and was tagged out trying to score a second time.
He went from catcher to pitcher in the second game and only gave up a few hits. But the Tigers still managed to score a run in all four innings and tallied six in the third. By then, though, the Saints had benefited from some sloppy play from Hohenfels and tallied 11 runs of their own. Aviano put the game out of reach in the final inning, scoring 10 times while benefiting from a slew of walks.
Deverick said whether it’s losing 17-2 to Division I Vilseck on opening weekend or splitting a pair of games with fellow D-II/III school Aviano, every game matters for his team. And not just in the standings.
“Every game is a preparation for Euros,” he said. “That’s how we approach it.”
