Ramirez makes Capaha debut, Redhawks Baseball throttles Purdue Ft. Wayne 19-3 in home opener

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team's offense needed to ignite in front of its home crowd. Throughout the first seven games of the season, its flame sometimes flickered and sometimes failed, unable to catch the necessary spark.

There would be no trouble at the plate for shortstop Andrew Ramirez and the Redhawks on Friday, Feb. 28 at Capaha Field.

The junior newcomer’s two-run single in the first inning helped power SEMO to a 19-3 blowout win over Purdue Fort Wayne in the home opener.

“Today was awesome,” said Ramirez, who transferred from Mt. San Antonio College this offseason. “I mean, 19 runs on 19 hits, that's pretty productive. That's a lot of fun. It's cool seeing all the fans out here, too. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”

The Redhawks' offense entered Friday averaging 4.4 runs per game behind a .253 team batting average. SEMO (4-4) caught fire against the road Mastodons (0-8), jumping in front 5-0 after the first inning and never looking back.

While Ramirez’s two-run single helped buoy the dominant outing, first baseman Bryce Cannon, center fielder Michael Mugan and right fielder Cole Warehime all launched homers. SEMO’s first scoreless inning did not come until the seventh.

“I just feel like we're making some progress offensively,” head coach Andy Sawyers said. “Nineteen runs is always good to see, but I was impressed tonight with the quality of our bats. I think we had the starting pitcher at 80 pitches through two innings and we grinded him hard.”

Despite only going 1-for-4 at the dish, Ramirez has been the team’s most pleasant surprise through the opening month of the season. Including his production from Friday, the California native is now up to eight hits as the nine-hole hitter.

Sawyers said his impact stretches beyond those numbers.

“He's an interesting cat,” Sawyers said. “He's very quiet. He's not loud or demonstrative. But he is one of the smartest baseball players I've ever coached at any level or at any place. His baseball-savvy feel for the game and intuition makes him a very smart player.”

Ramirez seems to be fitting right into his new home.

The junior has started every game this season and currently ranks third among the team’s starters in batting average (.308), third in slugging percentage (.461) and first in doubles (four). On the defensive side, Ramirez boasts a perfect fielding percentage — something Sawyers thinks is the best part of his game.

“He’s amazing defensively,” Sawyers said. “He's got a good feel and he's just very impressive for a guy that wasn't highly recruited from California. They weren't recruiting him in his own state and we gave him an opportunity. And I’m like, ‘This guy's really good,’ and he just needed a chance somewhere. But he's an impressive young man.”

Ramirez described himself as a late bloomer. He started his college baseball career 2,788 miles east from his hometown of West Covina, California at Queens College in New York in 2023 before taking the junior college route and transferring back home to his home state as a sophomore.

There, Sawyers was introduced to him on a visit while recruiting his teammate and current Redhawks pitcher Matthew Lorenzano during a trip to Mt. San Antonio College, which ultimately became quite the package deal for the SEMO head coach.

“I have a pretty good relationship with their coaches,” Sawyers said. “One day, I was talking about Lorenzano and what I need to do to get him to say ‘yes.’ And they're like, ‘Well, do you need another infielder, coach?’ And I was like, ‘Actually, I do.’ He's like, ‘Well, our shortstop is his best friend and they played high school ball together, as well. If you would take our shortstop, I pretty much guarantee Lorenzano would say yes.’ So, I called Andrew and he committed the next day, and then Lorenzano committed right behind him.

“I think recruiting is a relationship game, right? So, you have to know who to trust, and I trust his coaches and they trust me. And that's how easy it was for him.”

Sawyers found the right guy at the right time in Ramirez, who was patiently waiting for the right opportunity at the right program.

“I just wanted to go to a place where I had a chance at playing,” Ramirez said. “Coach Sawyers told me, ‘I don't promise anybody playing time, but I promise you an opportunity.’ So, it's been a lot of fun just getting a fair shot. I just owe a lot of it to the coaches because they've been helping me a lot.”

The newcomer also said SEMO has enabled him to “find a new playing style” by becoming a more productive hitter.

“I've always been good at defense, really, but hitting, I feel like that's been the most important thing,” Ramirez said. “Coach Trevor (Ezell) has helped me a tremendous amount and he's really turned my hitting around. But these guys are really competitive. Every position player could be a starter, so it's a lot of fun and it keeps everybody pushing each other.”

To an underrated player such as Ramirez, he is only beginning to write his story.

No transfer has been as impactful for SEMO as the everyday shortstop, and his well-rounded performances are exactly what Sawyers is hoping for as the Redhawks look to defend their conference title and make another deep postseason run in 2025.

“I think what people saw from a production standpoint was a little bit of a fluke of a small sample size, combined with cold temperatures,” Sawyers said of the young season. “It’s just taking a little bit of time to get going. So, I think we're going to have a really, really good lineup, and it's just a matter of time, in my opinion.”

What’s next?

SEMO returns to the diamond Saturday, March 1, for a doubleheader against Purdue Fort Wayne at Capaha Field. The doubleheader will begin with a seven-inning first game at noon followed by a nine-inning game, roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.