Orlando Castro had another solid outing for West Virginia on Sunday, getting the win in the Power’s 11-2 win against visiting Hagerstown at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va.
Castro (2-1) went five innings, allowing two runs on six hits while strikeout three and allowing one walk (his first of the season). Castro did well in using his fastball to get ahead of the Hagerstown batters and being aggressive once ahead in the count.
“The thing I like about him is he mixes speeds well and he likes to dominate the inside part of the plate,” West Virginia manager Michael Ryan said after Sunday’s game. “He’s not the biggest guy in the world but he has a huge heart. He establishes his fastball in and then mixes in his pitches that much more.”
Sunday was Castro’s fourth appearance of the season for West Virginia. In his previous two outings he allowed no runs on six hits in a total of nine innings pitched. His strikeout to walk ratio currently sits at 18 to 1 after Sunday’s performance.
“He’ll throw 90, 91 (miles per hour) but with his angle and the way he can locate it inside it makes it look a lot harder than what he does throw,” Ryan said. “The biggest thing with him is when he locates his pitches. Anybody is tough to hit (when they locate pitches) but he by far locates the best out of our rotation right now and it makes him effective.”
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Barrett Barnes made his debut in West Virginia during this weekend’s series with Hagerstown, and while he still appears to be getting acclimated to the South Atlantic League he did account for a double and two RBIs in Sunday’s win. Barnes has just two hits in his first 17 at-bats for the Power, but Ryan said he feels the former Texas Tech standout is fitting in well with his new team.
“He took the extra base to get a hustle-double and that’s what we’re trying to instill in these guys — to play hard for nine innings,” Ryan said. “His timing is starting to get there as far as being under the lights and playing at a higher level so that was good to see.”
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West Virginia hits the road for its next seven games, with a three-game series at Charleston (S.C.) starting Tuesday.
