Third baseman who was pressed into service and saw most of his action at the catching position in his first season at San Diego State ... Could move back to third base this season in a starting role ... Played during the summers of 2007 and 2008 with the Santa Barbara Foresters in the California Collegiate League ... In 2008, hit .297 (.315 in league play) with nine doubles, three home runs, and 19 RBI with a .983 fielding percentage behind the plate ... In 2007, batted .318 with four home runs, 28 RBI and nine stolen bases for team that advanced to the NBC World Series ... Participated at the 2005 Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif.
SAN DIEGO STATE 2008
Sophomore transfer who played third base at Arizona as a freshman in 2007 and was converted to the catching position for the Aztecs ... Had not played behind the plate prior to this season ... Fielded .991 as a catcher with only three errors in 351 chances over 37 games at the position ... Caught 21 of 50 runners (42 percent) attempting to steal against him ... Also played first base in 13 contests and was at third on one occasion ... Hit his first career homer at fifth-ranked San Diego on Feb. 23 and added four more during the season after not hitting one in 40 games at Arizona ... Personal-best three hits in a game on three occasions ... Recorded a pair of doubles vs. TCU on April 26 ... Hit safely in nine of the final 12 contests of the season... Had a pair of five-game hitting streaks ... Committed only one error over SDSU[apos]s final 26 games ... Batted .384 in Mountain West Conference play, second-highest average among the Aztec regulars ... Four of his homers came in league play as he drove in 20 runs in 20 games.
ARIZONA 2007
Played one season at the University of Arizona on a team that advanced to the NCAA Regional in Wichita, Kan. ... Batted .253 over the 40 games in which he appeared (21 starts), primarily as a third baseman ... Had four doubles and 12 runs batted in.
HIGH SCHOOL
Earned four varsity letters as a baseball player at Fallbrook High School in Fallbrook, Calif., under coach Matt Parker ... Selected team captain his final two seasons ... As a senior in 2006, was named to the Cal-Hi Sports all-state team after batting .489 with 15 home runs and 43 runs batted in ... A first-team all-Avocado League selection and league player of the year... First-team all-CIF honoree ... Hit .380 as a junior with 16 homers and 42 RBI, earning first-team all-league and second-team all-CIF accolades ... All-Avocado League second team honors as a freshman (.341, 5 HR, 25 RBI) and sophomore (.428, 9 HR, 50 RBI) ... His 45 career home runs ranks second all-time in San Diego high school history ... Was recruited by Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and San Diego ... President of Fellowship of Christian Athletes as a senior.
PERSONAL
Erik B. Castro was born Nov. 13, 1987, in Los Angeles, Calif. ... Son of Alonzo and Mona Castro ... Enjoys hanging out with friends, going to the beach and playing sports ... Favorite athlete is Cardinal first baseman Albert Pujols ... Majoring in social science at San Diego State.