HOOVER, Ala. - Jean Ramirez didn’t freak out when he learned in batting practice before Arkansas’ SEC Tournament opener against Ole Miss on Wednesday that he’d be the Razorbacks’ starting catcher because junior Jake Wise was too ill to play.
It was the first start against an SEC team for Ramirez, a redshirt freshman from Forth Worth.
“I’ll tell you how he acted. He just acted normal, like, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go,’ ” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “I didn’t make a big a deal about it. I didn’t want to rile him up.
“I just told him, ‘Go catch. Do what you do. You catch bullpens every day, you catch in scrimmages, you’ve started a few games for us this year.This is the same game, it’s just a different field.’ “
Playing on the SEC’s big stage at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Ramirez looked like he’d been catching all season for Arkansas as he helped the No. 14 Razorbacks beat Ole Miss 2-1. He started again Thursday night in Arkansas’ 4-1 victory over No. 2 LSU and went 1 for 3 and scored a run.
“He was asked to come in and catch in a tough spot,playing against some of the best teams in the country,” Van Horn said. “He doesn’t have a lot of experience at this level, but we couldn’t have asked him to do a better job. I was really proud of him for hanging in there.”
Wise had started 49 games coming into the SEC Tournament; Ramirez had started five.
“I wasn’t expecting to start, but I’ve always been ready to come in whenever I’m needed,” Ramirez said. “It’s been tons of fun getting the experience against really good teams.”
Ramirez said he heard from an assistant coach Wednesday that he might start against Ole Miss, then Wise confirmed it.
“I said, ‘OK, I guess I’m starting,’ ” Ramirez said. “I just started to get mentally prepared for that and got loose to be ready to play.
“Coming into these last two games, I’ve had a lot of confidence. I know I can play at this level. I just felt really loose. I already got those nerves out the first game I started.”
Ramirez’s first career start, against Western Illinois in the third game this season, didn’t go well. He had a throwing error on a stolen base attempt and allowed a passed ball that resulted in two of the Leathernecks’ runs as they won 7-5.
“He’ll admit he was nervous and trying too hard, just all the things that happen a lot of times the first time out,” Van Horn said. “He probably learned a lot from that game, and maybe that loss helped us win a game here.”
Ramirez, who came into the LSU game batting .150, hit a one-out single up the middle in the fifth inning against Tigers ace Aaron Nola and scored on a hit-and-run double by Joe Serrano to tie it 1-1.
“I just ran as fast as I could,” Ramirez said. “I had to score that run to tie the game.”
Nola came into the game holding opponents to a .192 batting average.
“For Jean to get a hit off Nola, that’s tough for anybody to do, let alone somebody who hasn’t played all year,” Arkansas senior center fielder Matt Vinson said. “That was big to see, and it shows what he can do for us.”
Ramirez credited Arkansas assistant coach Brian Walker, who played catcher for the Razorbacks and professionally for the Arkansas Travelers, for helping him develop defensively.
“Coach Walker is tough on us, but he expects a lot from us and he prepares us,” Ramirez said. “We have all this success because of him.”
Wise, who caught the ninth inning against LSU, might be back in the lineup for today’s semifinal rematch against the Tigers. But Van Horn said he has no qualms about playing Ramirez again.
“It gives us a lot more confidence in Jean now that he’s gone out there and done it at such a critical time of the year,” Van Horn said. “It should just elevate him a notch.
“He’s been there and he can say, ‘I’ve done it, and I did OK,’ and just continue to build off of that.”
Today’s game
ARKANSAS VS. LSU WHEN Noon Central WHERE Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala.
RECORDS Arkansas 37-19; LSU 50-9 RADIO Razorbacks Sports Network, which includes KQSM-FM 92.1 in Fayetteville; KURM-AM 790 in Bentonville-Rogers; KABZ-FM 103.7 in Little Rock; KASR-FM 92.7, in Conway;
KHGG-FM, 103.1, in Fort Smith; KELDFM, 106.5, in El Dorado, and KOMT-FM, 107.5, in Mountain Home. Not all games will be carried by affiliates. Check local listings.
TELEVISION ESPNEWS, CSS INTERNET www.arkansasrazorbacks.com PITCHING MATCHUP Arkansas: Randall Fant (LHP, 5-1, 2.08 ERA). LSU: Hunter Newman (RHP, 2-0, 2.18 ERA) or Brent Bonvillain (LHP, 2-0, 2.97 ERA) SHORT HOPS The Arkansas-LSU winner will advance to Sunday’s SEC Tournament championship game while the loser will be eliminated. … Arkansas and LSU are 2-2 against each other this season, including the Razorbacks’ 4-1 victory Thursday night. … Arkansas left fielder Brian Anderson has reached base in 17 consecutive games. … LSU is 66-38 all-time in SEC Tournament games after beating Alabama 3-2 on Friday.
Sports, Pages 21 on 05/25/2013