Go-To-Guy: Garcia, Hanna turned to Ramnarine in biggest games

If there was a big game for the Hanna Golden Eagles, there was only one person coach Eddie Garcia put on the mound: Ramesh Ramnarine.

The horse of the staff battled the best of the best throughout the 2008-09 season and was undoubtedly one of the integral leaders in Hanna’s successful campaign on his way to being named The Brownsville Herald’s 2009 All-Metro pitcher of the year.

With nerves of steel and an electric arm Ramnarine set the pace for the Eagles, taking on foes such as PSJA High, Sharyland and, of course, Lopez.

"I always wanted to go against the best," Ramnarine said. "I felt it was a chance to prove to myself that I was a good pitcher and could be counted on by my team to get the job done."

He helped the Eagles to a 13-1 district record and earned a win over the Lobos, who suffered their only 32-5A loss to the nasty right-hander in route to sharing the district title.

Ramnarine boasted a 7-2 record with a 1.87 ERA, striking out 61 batters — an average of 7.5 per game — with an opponent batting average of .179.

While the Eagles also had stellar pitcher Gilbert Hinojosa, the Eagles’ skipper said the mental toughness Ramnarine displayed was the reason why he handed the ball to Ramnarine when Hanna needed a big win.

"He was our horse," Garcia said. "He wanted to ball in those games, and with his experience and his strong mental game he would take the mound and it usually worked out for us."

One of the games that stood out to Garcia was the game against Lopez during the first round of district, when the Eagles stole a win on the road.

"I had made a mistake leaving him to run the bases the inning before, and he walked two batters to start the sixth inning." Garcia said. "We had Gilbert ready to go, but he told me he could do it and I trusted him. We got the lead and then he shut down the heart of the lineup in their last at bat and it was a huge win for us."

Decisions like that also helped Garcia win an honor, The Herald’s All-Metro Coach of the Year.

The Hanna skipper had dreamed of putting on the uniform he once wore in high school again for a while. Once it came true, he took advantage of every second during his inaugural season with the Eagles.

He led the Eagles to a share of the district title and a 22-9 record, reaching the second round of the playoffs.

"I was very fortunate to be in the situation I was in," Garcia said. "From the first day, these kids were ready to work and wanted to win."

With the unexpected departure of former coach Frank Webb, the new Eagles skipper said the transition became easier once the team saw his passion for the game.

"We were all on the same page and loved baseball," Garcia said. "They wanted to win and so did I. It was a rare group of kids that put so much into working hard and winning."

Louie Vera covers sports for Valley Freedom Newspapers. He can be reached at (956) 982-6663 or via e-mail at lvera@brownsvilleherald.com.