Castillo Spins a Gem in Tigers Postseason Opener

"Johan is amazing and he keeps his body in shape. He is built for those moments, and it was Johan's game until he told me he was done." These were the first things that head coach Randy Guite had to say about his star pitcher. Pitching on his 23rd birthday, Castillo would give the Tigers an excellent chance at taking an essential game in the series. He would go there and pitch his heart out, as he would throw a career high in pitches, at 139, while throwing 8 and a third innings. After the outing, Castillo said that his main focus in this one was to, "minimize and give my team a chance to win." Giving his team a chance to win is exactly what he did, as he would only allow three runs over the eight innings, with two runs coming off solo home runs in the 6th and 8th. Asking Castillo if he felt he was capable of going the distance was possible, he had to say that, "I thought I could finish it, but I would just let Julian finish it." Julian Huerta would indeed close it out for the Tigers, as he would retire both batters in order, to get his third save of the season, and move Castillo's record to 8-2 on the year. 

The Tigers would go down early in this one as CU would plate the first run of the game in the first, but it would not take long for the Tigers to respond. Hank Schineller would tie the game up on his 14th homer of the season, which also breaks the school record for single season home runs. Schineller said that, "It's a long time in the making and it is a testament to all the hard work we do out here, and it is great to do stuff like that for them." 

Coming back in the third, the Tigers were back on the prowl, as they looked to take the lead. With runners on second and third, Jarrett Chapman would single to left and only plate one. However, Nick Lopez would come up to bat, and he would plate both runners with his single down the line, to move the Tigers lead to 4-1. The Tigers would tack on their two final runs in the 6th, when Payton Rios would double to right-center, and plate both Chapman and Lopez.