But as has been deservedly advertised the past two seasons, San Benito’s Crystal Castillo is certainly not like “most pitchers.”
On Friday night in a Class 6A bi-district one-game playoff against Weslaco East, Castillo turned in absolute gem. The senior took a perfect game into the seventh inning and finished with two hits allowed and 14 strikeouts as her Lady ‘Hounds blanked East 4-0 in front of a packed house at Lady Hound Field.
After the victory over the fourth-seeded Lady Wildcats, San Benito (23-1) moves on to the Area round to square off against either Laredo United or McAllen Memorial. Memorial won Game 1 on Friday night, 13-0 in 4 innings. Game 2 is at 5 p.m. today with Game 3 to follow, if necessary.
“It felt like any other game out there,” Castillo said. “I was trying not to pay attention to it (perfect game) because then I’ll just be thinking about it. I knew I had my team behind me and my defense always has my back.”
Castillo struck out the side in the first, third and fourth innings as she battled a bit of a cold with a red-hot game to begin what the Lady ‘Hounds is another long playoff run. But the home team got all it could handle through five innings from a feisty East team.
“In the playoffs, everybody’s good and records go out the window,” San Benito coach Elias Martinez said. “Everybody’s gonna fight til the bitter end and I’m glad they (East) did because it woke us up. In a one-game playoff, it’s all on the line.”
Lady ‘Hound catcher Kim Harper came up big in the first inning when she legged out a bunt single and later scored on an infield putout. As East fought valiantly, the game stayed that way until the fifth, when Jav’ana Gonzalez walked and scored on another super infield hit by the speedy Harper. Then Mel Gonzalez singled and got to third on a two-base error by the East right fielder to bring Harper home for a 3-0 advantage. Mel Gonzalez rounded out the scoring when she scored on a passed ball.
Castillo cruised until the seventh, when East’s Britney Garcia broke up the perfecto-bid and later Priscilla Tirado doubled. But a liner by Myra Barrera was caught and Garcia was doubled off at third to end the game.
“She stepped it up tonight and next round will be another big test for us,” Martinez said of Castillo. “She played great tonight and when you combine great defense with great pitching you’ve always got a chance. That’s San Benito softball.”
Meanwhile, Castillo spoke of the youth growing up in a hurry as the playoffs roll on for the Lady ‘Hounds.
“I think we did good because we have quite a few freshmen,” she said. “I think they handled the pressure very well and we’re just gonna keep getting better at it. We just stayed focused tonight and kept talking to each other to get through the game.”