Ray Castillo Garners All-American Honors from NCBWA

Alabama freshman relief pitcher Ray Castillo was named a 2013 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Freshman All-American. Castillo garnered second team honors when the team was announced on Monday.

Castillo had an outstanding freshman season for the Crimson Tide, posting a 2-3 record with 12 saves and a 3.38 ERA. He finished the season with a team-high 26 appearances, totaling 42.2 innings pitched, all out of the bullpen. He finished the season with 43 strikeouts, to average 1.0 strikeouts per inning, which was the second best average on the squad.

A total of 32 standout freshmen college baseball players from every part of the country are featured on the 2013 NCBWA Freshman All-American Team, representing 15 conferences.

Castillo converted 12-of-15 save opportunities in 2013 to set the Alabama freshman single season record for saves with 12. He tied for the third most saves in a single season at the Capstone, and the 12 saves rank ninth in the Alabama career record books.

Castillo’s longest outings of the season came when he threw 4.1 innings against Tulane (March 3) and at Mississippi (April 14). He earned his second win of the season following his performance against Tulane, when he had a season-high six strikeouts, allowing one run on one hit. His 4.1 innings at Mississippi resulted in his first loss of the year as the Tide fell to the 18th-ranked Rebels in extra innings.

In his first career game, Castillo threw 3.1 innings against VMI, recording five strikeouts to earn the win his the Tide’s first game of the season. He also had a five-strikeout game against LSU on April 20, when he threw 4.0 innings against the Tigers.

This marks the second freshman All-American honor for Castillo, who was also selected as a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. Castillo was also named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team.