Dragons pitcher getting ready to step up

Arkansas pitching coach Tony Vitello came to the Houston baseball showcase in January 2015 and had other arms he wanted to evaluate.

In the meantime, Kole Ramage kept throwing to his catcher. He snapped off 90-mph-popping fastball after 90-mph-popping fastball. Ramage broke off curveball after curveball. They came in from two different planes.

Soon the Carroll right-hander, now a senior, drew the attention of the SEC power assistant coach. Within days, an offer was extended. Within days, Ramage committed.

Call that dream fulfilled. With both of his parents graduates of Arkansas and envisioning one day of going there, Ramage can do that.

“It’s a very fortunate thing for me,” Ramage said. “No one else really offered because they knew that’s where I wanted to go. It was kind of fun because I was just off to the side when they were looking at someone else. Something worked out.”

Ramage, who is also the Dragons football team’s place-kicker, is using the summer with his Dallas Patriots team to continue to build his game. The Patriots just completed a weeklong tournament in Marietta, Ga. Ramage had two starts.

With the game-changing heat complemented by a curveball and change-up, he’s also building toward becoming the No. 1 pitcher for the Dragons in 2017 who will be under the direction of new coach Larry Vucan. Larry Hughes retired in June after 20 seasons.

Although the Dragons were ousted in the Class 6A Region I area playoff round, Ramage (6-0, 180) enjoyed a very solid junior season as the No. 2 pitcher behind Matthew Canterino who is moving on to Rice.

Ramage, who pitched on Fridays, went 8-2 with a 1.10 earned-run average. His only two losses were 2-1 decisions to Coppell in the regular season and Lewisville Hebron in the playoffs. Any coach would take those kinds of decisions.

“He became more of a strike thrower this year,” said Vucan who was promoted from pitching coach on July 5. “He was throwing about 60 percent strikes compared to what he was doing in the high 40s last year. Kole has an electric arm. The real growth in his game is his temperature. He keeps it all even.”

But Ramage owes a lot of his success to what he learned under Hughes and Vucan when he started to make his way into Carroll’s pitching plans in 2015. Ramage won the deciding third game in playoff series against Hebron and Coppell. The 3-2 win over Coppell revealed his toughness. Ramage threw a complete game.

“[Hughes] was a very good coach,” Ramage said. “He taught me the psychology of the game and how to be able to handle every situation. He always checked in with me after every inning and I never would hear a negative comment.

“And if I struggled, he would just tell me that it was a bad day and that I had good stuff and it was going to get better. Those were things that really help you.”

Ramage is spending the summer working on a slider and may eventually add a two-seam sinking fastball. He understands that leg drive and his core are the foundation for as long as he continues to pitch.

His leadership is also going to be even as important. Ramage is only one of five returners from the 2016 team.

“I just have to keep working on everything,” Ramage said. “As the only pitcher coming back, I’m going to do whatever I can to fill that leadership spot.”

This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Dragons pitcher getting ready to step up."