Castro Competes At Pan American Classic

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The Puerto Rican city of San Juan is playing host to the 8^th Women’s Softball Pan American Classic this month. Teams from 15 countries, including the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and host Puerto Rico, have descended upon the city in an effort to earn qualifying berths into the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, the 2014 World Cup of Softball in Haarlem, Netherlands, and the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. This is the first time Puerto Rico has hosted the event.

While the Classic certainly has broad international appeal, it is a more local flare that brings word of the event to Albany’s attention. Charlise Castro, first-baseman for UAlbany’s softball team, is participating in the Classic on the Puerto Rican squad. Castro has played every game in the tournament so far at first base, and is batting .278 with one home run, four RBIs, and four runs scored.

Castro started all 52 games at first base for UAlbany this past season, batting .309 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs. She has also competed for Puerto Rico in the World Cup of Softball for the past two years.
In the Pan American Classic, Puerto Rico currently sits in second place in Group B with a 5-1 mark, recording wins against Peru, Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela. Puerto Rico’s only loss came against the Dominican Republic, the only team in front of Puerto Rico in the Group B standings. Next, Puerto Rico plays Canada Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The Classic runs from August 10 – August 18.