Castile strikes out 15 in near no-hitter

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Trey Castile registered 15 strikeouts in a near no-hitter, Nate Cagley was 3-for-4 at the plate, and the Simpson College baseball team started its final home series of the year with a 7-0 shutout over rival Central.

Castile carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning and recorded two strikeouts before pinch hitter Colton Jones spoiled the no-hitter with a single through the left side, Central's lone hit of the game. Castile threw 8.2 innings, allowing just three walks against a career-high 15 strikeouts.

Cagley singled in the first, third and seventh innings to lead the Storm (14-17, 7-9 A-R-C) offensively with three hits. Drew Carlson, Joel Sampson, Ian Baldwin and Zach Fuller all had two hits on the day.

FULL SUMMARY

• After a quick 1-2-3 inning for Trey Castile, Simpson batted through the lineup and put up four runs in the bottom of the first. Sam Porter drove in the first score of the night, Zach Fuller doubled in a run and later scored on a double steal, and Drew Carlson crossed home plate on a wild pitch.
• The Storm loaded the bases with three singles in the third inning, but the Dutch (11-18, 5-9 A-R-C) managed to work their way out of the jam. 
• Castile continued to dominate on the mound, allowing just three walks over the next four innings. He struck out two batters in each frame.
• In the bottom of the seventh, the Storm took advantage of an error by the Dutch to extend the lead to 5-0.
• Another error as well as an RBI single by Ian Baldwin allowed two more runs to come home as Simpson went ahead 7-0 in the eighth.
• Castile induced a groundout before recording his 14th strikeout of the game against Dom DeLapaz. Central put runners on the corners via an error and a wild pitch on a swinging strikeout, but Andrew Weig came in and closed out the shutout with a flyout.

STORM STANDOUTS

• Trey Castile: 8.2 IP, 1 hit, 3 walks, 15 strikeouts
• Nate Cagley: 3-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 run
• Joel Sampson: 2-for-3, 1 double, 1 walk, 1 run, 1 stolen base
• Ian Baldwin: 2-for-5, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 run
• Zach Fuller: 2-for-4, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 run, 1 stolen base

NOTES

• Simpson now leads the all-time series 104-75-1. This was the Storm's 15th shutout in the series that dates back to 1917.
• The Storm held Central scoreless for the first time since April 15, 2023.
• Trey Castile set a new career high strikeout mark for the third time this season with 15. That's the third-highest single game total in program history.
• Simpson has held its opponents to just one hit on two occassions this season. 

UP NEXT
It's Senior Day for the Storm as they take on Central two more times on Saturday afternoon. The senior recognition ceremony will take place in between games.