Castillo's Dominance Gives Tigers Series Win

Johan Castillo hit a little rough patch in the season, as he was not as sharp as he had been to start out the year. But in this one, it was vintage Johan Castillo. Quick, low stress, and dominant innings is what we got from Castillo here. His ERA had gone over three after his last start against Cumberland on Wednesday, but these 7 shutout innings against Pikeville got him and his ERA back to a sub 3. He worked quick innings with low pitch counts, with an average of only 13 pitches an inning. He would strike out seven batters in this one, one shy of his season high, while only walking one batter. The only bad news to come out of this one for Castillo is that he could not get his seventh win on the year, as Pikeville would take the lead in the 8th, giving him a no-decision. Pasquale DeFilippis would pitch the 8th, and give up the two runs. Julian Huerta would pitch the ninth, after the Tigers took the lead, and secure his second save of the year, and secure the series win for the Tigers.

It looked as if the fireworks from game one of the doubleheader were going to continue from game one, as in the second inning Hank Schineller would hit his twelfth home run of the year, and second of the series. However, this is all the Tigers would be able to muster up until the 9th inning. A leadoff single and a hit by pitch would set the Tigers up nicely. Jose Cazorla would pinch hit, and deliver a huge two-run double to right center to reclaim the lead. Cazorla would come around to score on a single from Jarrett Chapman, to give the Tigers a huge insurance run. 

The Tigers have a relatively light week ahead, as they only have one midweek game. They head to IU-Southeast for a single game on Wednesday, which is slated to start at 6 pm. They then head to Shawnee State for their final MSC series in the regular season, as they look to move up in the standings, with the ambitions of hosting the opening round.