{"id":4419,"date":"2026-05-21T23:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T03:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sweatsoxbaseball.com\/blog\/?p=4419"},"modified":"2026-05-25T00:12:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:12:55","slug":"ramage-deserved-better-says-ramage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sweatsoxbaseball.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/21\/ramage-deserved-better-says-ramage\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramage Deserved Better, Says Ramage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The SweatSox came into Wednesday night\u2019s matchup at Trillium with a perfect 2-0 record and plenty of early-season confidence, but the Bytown Bats had other plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the SweatSox grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Bats answered with runs in each of the final four official innings played and pulled away for an 8-4 victory, spoiling what had been a promising start for the reigning hot bats of the SweatSox. The win moved the Bats to 1-0-1 on the season, while the SweatSox fell to 2-1 after opening-week wins over the Lumberjacks and Barons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The game\u2019s most dramatic moment came in the seventh inning, when SweatSox had the tying run at the plate with two outs and a full count. Jaspreet Sanghra stepped in with a chance to launch a game-tying three-run home run off the best pitcher in the tier Max Rose, only for the ballpark lights to suddenly go out at 10:55 p.m., ending the night in the most frustrating way possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had been waiting my whole life for that moment, only for the power to go out,\u201d Sanghra said. \u201cI guess we\u2019ll never know if I was going to do the impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home plate umpire Henry Beelen was equally unimpressed with the abrupt finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI demand the NCBL get a refund from the City of Ottawa for the five minutes we were robbed of,\u201d Beelen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josh Ramage took the loss for the SweatSox, making his second start of the season and grinding through six innings in a complete-game effort. He allowed 11 hits, five earned runs and four walks while striking out a career-high eight hitters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not an easy night behind him, however, as the SweatSox were charged with four official errors and continued to make life difficult for their starter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need and expect more from my defense,\u201d Ramage said. \u201cAnd honestly, the official scorer should be investigated, because in my personal record book there was at least six or nine errors and zero earned runs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defensively, Geoff Nolan made a strong season debut at shortstop, collecting two key assists, including a first-inning double play that helped settle things early. At first base, Larry Pawelek handled business with an assist and four putouts, including one sequence in which he was accidentally stepped on, and another where he appeared to crawl the ball to first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick Henderson, who manned second base, had nothing but appreciation for Pawelek\u2019s unconventional style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLarry does his best work from his knees,\u201d Henderson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere on the diamond, Andrew Hierlihy became the 12th different player since 2015 to patrol centre field for the SweatSox. Only one ball was hit his way, and it found grass for a base hit up the middle. Still, Hierlihy had a clean sheet in the field and noted that the SweatSox were leading 4-1 when he was removed from the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had zero errors,\u201d Hierlihy pointed out afterward. \u201cAnd we were winning 4-1 when I came out of the game. I\u2019m not saying there\u2019s causation there, but the correlation is definitely interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Offensively, the SweatSox showed enough sparks to keep the game close for most of the night. Ron Martelle reached base in all three of his plate appearances, working three walks, while Nolan helped give the SweatSox their early lead with an RBI double in the first. Rookie James Paul added an RBI single and also recorded the first hit-by-pitch of his career, bringing him to within 316 of Sanghra for the franchise lead in that category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHitting, and getting hit in Tier 3 is easy,\u201d Paul said. \u201cMaybe I should’ve looked for a Tier 1 team to play for instead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick Henderson and Steve Brown added the other SweatSox hits, one apiece, though Brown felt the box score undersold his evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could\u2019ve had more,\u201d Brown said. \u201cBut for some reason batting fifth in the order is basically the new leadoff, so I had very limited opportunities to produce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bats\u2019 offence was paced by Ben Bartholomew and Matteo Panetta, who each collected three hits, helping keep pressure on the SweatSox throughout. On the mound, the Bats rolled out a strong pitching mix of Keaton Mather, Evan Woronecki and Max Rose, and all three kept the SweatSox off balance while the visitors stranded 12 runners in six innings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bats manager Cameron MacDonald, as upbeat as ever, said the plan worked exactly as intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was the strategy going in,\u201d MacDonald said. \u201cNever let that dangerous SweatSox offence get going and keep mixing things all night. Full credit to both teams for a hard-fought game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SweatSox will look to bounce back this Sunday at Kinsmen against the Lumberjacks in a 6:00 p.m. start, weather permitting. Cory Bond is scheduled to make his first start on the mound in nearly two years, and just his fifth start in 10 years, again weather permitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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