Castro's big night leads JetHawks outburst

On a night when his new home ballpark was showing why it's known as the most hitter-friendly environment in the Minor Leagues, Luis Castro took full advantage.
The Rockies prospect racked up four hits for the second straight night, finishing a triple shy of the cycle and driving in three runs to lead Class A Advanced Lancaster to a 17-11 triumph over Lake Elsinore at The Hangar.

Gameday box score
Castro is hitting like a player thrilled to be in the California League for the first time. A night after belting his first JetHawks homer, the first baseman started Wednesday with a double to left field in the second inning. He bounced a single back up the middle leading off the fourth and, after lining into a double play in the fifth, redeemed himself with a three-run blast to right-center in the seventh.
"He's just going up there and looking for a good pitch to hit," Lancaster hitting coach Tom Sutaris said. "He's being aggressive, and if the ball is in a spot where he can get it up in the air, he's putting a good swing on it and hitting the ball hard."
The 22-year-old capped his night by singling to left in the eighth. Since going 0-for-4 in his Cal League debut on Saturday, he's 11-for-15 (.733) with two homers, two doubles, eight runs scored and five RBIs. Castro spent parts of the last four years with Class A Short Season Boise, earning a promotion this year after batting .349/.441/.594 in 30 Northwest League games.
"I had him in Spring Training a little bit and he works hard," Sutaris said. "He's very conscientious about what he does and he prepares to be successful.
"He's a very talented kid. He puts in the time. He prepares. He studies what the pitcher's going to do and he's just putting together good at-bats. He's just very talented right now, and he's feeling good."

Castro wasn't the only JetHawk raking at a blinding pace. Catcher Brian Serven started his night 3-for-3 with a homer and a double, giving him hits in nine consecutive at-bats, one shy of the California League record. He struck out in the eighth to end the streak.
"He's been unbelievable, man," Sutaris said. "He's just been putting together great at-bats. Actually, there was a stretch there where he could've been better than that. He really has just been putting together good at-bats for two or three weeks now and is in a really good place. He's put a lot of time and effort into getting himself there."
The JetHawks piled up 18 hits, including five homers. Rockies No. 5 prospectTyler Nevin and 28th-ranked Vince Fernandez were among those going yard, while leadoff man Manuel Melendez homered and drove in four runs.
"There were a lot of at-bats that we had to grind out," Sutaris said. "It wasn't always just hitting first-pitch fastballs, we were grinding out some at-bats. A lot of guys had some really good at-bats and laid off some tough pitches. It's just fun because it's contagious. All the guys are getting after it and they're just grinding out at-bats and not giving pitches away."
Padres No. 19 prospectEdward Olivares had four hits of Lake Elsinore's 19 hits, tied his career high with four runs scored and contributed three RBIs.