By MARK MOLINA|The Brownsville Herald
There were rarely any easy outs at the plate this season in District 32-5A softball as the league boasted strong defensive play and pitching from its top teams.
Fortunately for the Lopez Lady Lobos, junior third baseman and pitcher Alex Castro was a model of consistency for her team and a threat no matter whom she faced while at the plate.
Castro’s production helped lead Lopez to the postseason for the second straight season and because of her efforts she has been named The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Softball Offensive Player of the Year.
The junior slugger also won the award last year as a sophomore, but was happy to be able to repeat after being motivated to play up to her competition once again this season.
“I was excited to hear that I got it again,” Castro said. “I was really surprised. I knew I had to be mentally tough throughout this district and all the good competition out there. It’s all mental and me training to get better. If I know I’m facing good competition, I’m out there getting mentally prepared. I tell myself I want to do well against this person because I want to show myself that I can do this, too.”
Castro, who oddly enough also was named a second-team All-District pitcher, led the team in several categories as she recorded a .595 batting average and an on-base percentage of .676.
In 33 games she was 50 of 84 at the plate with 46 RBIs, eight home runs, scored 44 runs and struck out just seven times.
Lopez head coach Jesse Martinez said Castro has continued to improve and has patience at the plate to thank for it.
“I think (Castro’s) pitch selection this year has certainly gotten a lot better,” he said. “She’s been able to find good pitches to hit and has been a lot more patience at the plate. As a youngster over the last two years, she was swinging at pitches that she shouldn’t have, but I think this year, she had a lot more quality at-bats. She had a lot of long balls as a result and she got a lot more walks than she usually does. She’s been a lot more efficient and a lot more productive for us.
Castro drew 21 walks, another team-high on the year.
While most have come on battles at the plate, the junior has drawn a few intentional walks and forced pitchers to game plan for her at-bat.
It’s a good feeling and a confidence boost for Castro.
“I (take pride in that) and when they say ‘don’t throw this pitch or that pitch,’ I just say wow,” she said. “They already have this set up for me so I won’t hit. Because of that, my level of confidence is up there.”
That confidence has shown and Martinez said it’s simply a result of how she approaches games and practices.
“Her confidence was at a level that I have not seen in her,” he said. “She’s worked on a lot of mental toughness and positive thinking and a lot of visualization. It’s primarily finding that pitch to hit and staying positive that whole time. She worked on it hard this year and she has come through for the team as a result. She’s done a lot of work in the cage and her mechanics are different than the last couple of years with timing and hitting the ball harder.”
“Her power is outstanding, she’s got such good mechanics, she’s got such great shift when she comes across and if she gets the right pitch, it’s going to go far.”
With one more year left, Martinez believes that Castro will continue to improve and believes that 15 home runs and a sustained average of more than .500 is a possibility for her should she continue to be patient during her upcoming senior campaign.
For Castro, she’s aiming for those numbers and more, but it starts with training.
“It’s just a lot of practice at home, with my travel ball team, at school, with my summer league, but it’s mostly practice,” Castro said. “Hopefully I can get this award again. Four years in a row (playing in this district), that’s pretty tough to keep up.”