Kaiserslautern senior Giada Taylor slides into home plate during the first game of a doubleheader against Wiesbaden on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The atmosphere around the Kaiserslautern softball team couldn’t be any rosier.

Sure, the Raiders began the season with four consecutive losses before spring break. But since then? They’ve posted six straight victories, including a doubleheader sweep over Wiesbaden at Kaiserslautern High School on Saturday.

The 27-12 and 19-4 wins pushed Kaiserslautern (6-4, 6-4) above .500 for the first time this season.

“Everybody’s hyped right now,” Kaiserslautern coach Natasha Riggins said. “We saw what our issues were at the beginning, and we worked toward those weaknesses and got stronger and got more confident and believing in ourselves and knowing we can do it.”

That belief was evident early in the early game, which looked more like the start of the season than the winning streak.

The Warriors (2-8, 0-8) erupted at the plate in the top of the first inning. Seven Wiesbaden batters recorded hits, including pitcher Valerie Fisher’s two-RBI double that made it 7-0 to the away team.

Yet the Raiders responded immediately. Over the next two innings, they amassed 19 runs – eight in the first and 11 in the second – to take a 19-9 advantage.

“We just stayed positive,” Kaiserslautern senior Giada Talyor said of the early deficit. “We knew our offense was strong enough to get back up. So, we didn’t really panic.”

Taylor herself was a force at the plate, especially in the first game.

The catcher went 4 for 5 with a pair of triples and seven runs batted in. The first three-bagger came during her second at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, when, with the bases loaded, she smashed an 0-2 pitch along the third-base line.

Taylor got thrown out at home plate trying to stretch that triple into a home run, but the damage was done.

In her next plate appearance the following inning, Taylor launched a 1-1 pitch into left field to drive in teammates Kennedy Donahue and Ornella Taylor.

Giada Tayor drove in those same two players in the fourth inning with a single into left field to cap off the big game.

Kaiserslautern senior Giada Taylor hits the ball during the second game of a doubleheader against Wiesbaden on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern third baseman Kennedy Donahue throws the ball to first base while pitcher Amanda Garcia, left, watches and shortstop Alessia Garcia, middle, covers the bag during the first game of a doubleheader against Wiesbaden on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden first baseman Cydnee Lassiter runs to the bag for the force out after fielding a ground ball during the second game of a doubleheader against Kaiserslautern on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden senior Kyra Cole prepares to pick up a bat as she heads to home plate during the first game of a doubleheader against Kaiserslautern on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern hurler Amanda Garcia pitches during the first game of a doubleheader against Wiesbaden on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern senior Laylah Cole beats Wiesbaden pitcher Valerie Fisher to home plate on a passed ball during the first game of a doubleheader on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden sophomore Paige Welch hits the ball during the first game of a doubleheader against Kaiserslautern on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden's Valerie Fisher pitches the ball during the first game of a doubleheader against Kaiserslautern on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern shortstop Alessia Garcia throws the ball to first base after fielding a ground ball during the seond game of a doubleheader against Wiesbaden on April 26, 2025, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

The senior catcher slowed up in the later game, going 1 for 4, but she made her presence known with a two-run single in the second inning.

“Honestly, I just got up there and wanted to hit the ball,” Taylor said of her approach. “So, I just did my thing up there.”

Her coach praised Taylor, especially because she suffered an injury Saturday. Yet the catcher declined to be pulled in the last inning of the afternoon contest when the Kaiserslautern coaches called a timeout.

“We asked her, ‘Do we need to put somebody else in?’ She said no,” Riggins said. “‘She said, ‘I may be not so strong outside of the game, but in the game, I’m a tough cookie and I can handle it.’

“She’s really a phenomenal player.”

Not to be overlooked, Wiesbaden’s bats impressed. In fact, the Warriors outhit the Raiders 18-11 over the two games.

Fisher produced two extra-base hits with a triple in the first inning of the late game to go with the double in the opening contest. Senior Kyra Cole went 3 for 3 in the first game.

What sunk the Warriors, though, were struggles on both ends of the battery. Wiesbaden pitchers recorded more walks (23) and hit batters (12) than they allowed Kaiserslautern hits.

And passed balls allowed the Raiders to move along the basepaths easily.

“(Our girls) attacked them at the plate today,” Wiesbaden assistant coach Raquel Riley said. “They came out ready to go and aggressive, and that’s what we’ve been coaching them for the past couple of weeks, so it was really great to see their sticks come alive.

“If we didn’t have all the passed balls at the plate, it would have been a lot more of a competition today.”

Speaking of competition, Kaiserslautern is looking to get back to the Division I title game during next month’s DODEA European tournament.

Taylor said every game is about taking steps forward, and that’s what the team has done over the past three weekends.

“The season matters, but we’re out here to win the championship,” Taylor said. “So, we’re just improving as time goes, and that’s really what matters.”