Ramstein's Christian Roy tags Wiesbaden's Jonah Harvey during the first game of a doubleheader on April 12, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – Ramstein baseball coach Alfredo Rios highlighted improving the team’s hitting as the key to repeating as European champion this season.

So the Royals have spent an extra 20-30 minutes per practice on hitting. Many players also participate in “championship time,” aka extra repetitions in the batting cages.

Yet during the first game of a doubleheader against Wiesbaden at Southside Fitness Center on Saturday, the Royals didn’t produce a single hit despite winning 5-1.

That didn’t sit well with the Ramstein coaching staff, and the coaches implored their players to step into the batter’s box with a mission.

The Royals responded. The bats roared during a 21-0 shellacking of the Warriors in the late game in a doubleheader sweep.

Sure, Ramstein (4-1, 4-1) only recorded six hits. But it wasn’t for a lack of putting the ball in play, as the Warriors (4-2, 2-2) committed nine errors.

“For some reason, this team this year takes a few innings to warm up, but once they dial in, there’s no stopping these boys,” Rios said. “It takes a little push, but once they got that push, it’s like they don’t need us anymore. They take care of business on their own.”

The Royals’ first hit on the day came via Christian Roy, who had pitched four innings of one-hit and one-run ball in the early game for the win.

Hitting second in the lineup, Roy launched a pitch from Wiesbaden starter Gunner Blackmon down the third-base line for a double, driving in teammate Jaxon Lundell.

That hit sparked a nine-run inning where the first seven batters reached base safely. Among the four hits in the frame was Conor McGinty’s two-run single into right field.

Caden Nims concluded the frame’s scoring with a double into the left-center field gap that drove in Roy during the second time through the lineup.

Wiesbaden's Jonah Harvey pitches during the second game of a doubleheader against Ramstein on April 12, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden pitcher Gunner Blackmon throws the ball to first base after fielding a ground ball from Ramstein's Ivery Coleman, who looks back at Blackmon with running, during the second game of a doubleheader on April 12, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein second baseman Michael Schmiedel throws to first base after fielding a ground ball during the first game of a doubleheader of a doubleheader against Wiesbaden on April 12, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden's Owen Smith connects on a pitch during the second game of a doubleheader against Ramstein on April 12, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's Conor McGinty crosses home plate as Wiesbaden catcher Owen Smith watches his teammates try to get the ball back to the infield during the second game of a doubleheader on April 12, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's Caden Nims rounds Wiesbaden's Jack Lehr as he heads into third base during the first game of a doubleheader on April 12, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

The Royals batted around the order once again in the third inning, as 18 stepped into the batter’s box with 11 crossing home plate. The Royals only had two hits, but they still contacted the ball, as the Warriors recorded four more errors in the inning.

“It was just a mentality switch where in the first game, we kind of got in our heads a little bit,” McGinty said. “In the second game, it was just focusing on putting the ball in play, getting some good swings in, and the hits fell after that.”

Perhaps nobody showcased that change in mentality more than McGinty.

The senior went for 4 for 4 with two doubles, five RBI and scored three times himself. His first double occurred in the second inning as the lead-off man, and then during his second at-bat in the third, McGinty hit the ball into the same left-center field gap he did in the previous inning to drive in Roy and Nims.

McGinty’s work on the mound was just as impressive. The senior southpaw posted a 35-pitch no-hitter in the second game. The only blemishes were a trio of walks.

McGinty didn’t overpower the Warriors, though. The away team put the ball in play, but every time it seemed to go to Royal defenders. One example was a grounder by Ethan Malaga that went right back to McGinty, who turned to second base where Roy was waiting to turn a double play that ended the second inning.

Then, at the bottom of the third, Wiesbaden senior Jonah Harvey sent a fly ball into center field that looked like it might fall for a hit. Substitute Ryan Parvin got chased it down to record the game’s final out.

“I told him in between innings, it’s like he tells the batters where they’re going to hit the ball, and he makes sure they hit the ball to our defense,” Rios said of McGinty. “He has so much control, and he’s so calm on the mound. Nothing fazes him.”

The second game was one to forget for Wiesbaden coach Jon Ring and his players.

He pointed to the positives of the first game, where starter Jack Lehr and reliever Canyon Hunter combined to no-hit the Royals. The Warriors also got a run on the board in the third inning when Harvey drove in junior Stephen Fuller with a single.

Ring said his squad rued the first inning, when a two-run error allowed their opponents to get an early 3-0 advantage. That inning was eclipsed by the disastrous first inning of the late game in which the Warriors made five errors.

“We were competitive,” Ring said of the first game. “We played like we know we can play. I was happy with the first game. It was a baseball score at the end of the day.

“The second game, we just made a whole lot of mental errors and fielding errors in the first inning, and then everybody sort of stopped playing within themselves and got flustered.”