For the second straight day, Bailey Castro put the dagger in the Gamecocks.
In the series opener on Friday, Castro went yard for the first time all year with a three-run shot. The three runs came in the second to put South Carolina in a hole early. Florida piled on to make it a 9-1 win.
The Gators (25-5, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) needed Castro’s RBI single in a 1-0 win against the Gamecocks (19-11, 2-5 SEC) Saturday. The freshman designated hitter knocked in fellow freshman Sami Fagan in the third inning for the only run of the game.
“It felt really good to push that run across,” Castro said. “The first run is always really important to get on the scoreboard. It was a good team effort. I mean they walked Lauren (Haeger) to get to me, so that was great.”
Castro suffered a leg injury before the season started that sidelined the highly-touted power hitter early on this year. However, coach Tim Walton has been slowly integrating Castro in the lineup, trying to get her in the groove in time for the tough SEC schedule.
“We have high expectations and hopes for Bailey,” Walton said. “She hasn’t had the opportunity to live up to that yet because she has been hurt. But it’s very exciting to see her get out there and drive runs in.”
On Wednesday, Castro hit her first home run against Chattanooga but the contest was called a “no game” because of the weather. Therefore, the stats were officially wiped, nullifying her first career home run. But Friday, Castro came back and hit her first official home run and on Saturday, she knocked in her seventh run in just 12 at-bats.
As a senior at American Heritage, Castro was the 2011 Class 3A Florida Player of the Year. She was also one of just 10 players to be nominated for the 2011 MaxPreps National Softball Player of the Year Award.
“Any chance I get to start her, you’ll see her starting,” Walton said. “We might have to move our lineups around defensively but we’ll make it happen. At the end of the day, the question is whether or not she can sustain the rest of the season.”
Walton said he will make a decision before next week on whether or not Castro will continue to get playing time because of her injury. She has only played in 11 games and started three thus far this season and in those games, there is a significant limp when she runs.
“It’s hard to be injured,” Castro said. “But I’m working hard and getting better every day and that’s all that really matters. It’s just really nice to be back in it.”
