Campbell junior Markus Ramos spent 43 days away from home this past summer.
Trust me when I say it was worth it.
The 6-foot-3 wide receiver on the Sabers football team got noticed on the mound pitching for the Trosky Baseball traveling team. Despite throwing only “eight or nine” innings for the eventual state champion Sabers baseball team in the spring, Ramos was impressive enough early in the summer to draw attention from a host of Division I colleges.
One of those schools was Oregon, which eventually offered a scholarship to Ramos. Although he hadn’t even began his junior year, Ramos jumped at the chance to make a commitment to head coach George Horton and his staff.
“I pitched at the showcase where the Oregon coaches noticed me and then they saw me play again and really liked what they saw,” said Ramos, a right-hander. “I started having a lot of schools contact me and the Oregon coaches said, ‘let’s get this guy,’ so they gave me an offer and I said ‘yes.'”
Ramos hasn’t been to Eugene, Ore., but knows enough about the Ducks to make his commitment.
He said he was throwing 88 to 89 and touching 90 which is impressive for a juinor-to-be. At 6-foot-3, he has plenty of time to grow into that frame, making him an intriguing prospect.
After returning home, he earned a tryout to play in the Area Code games and made the Milwaukee Brewers roster. He pitched three innings during the three-day event and struck out four while allowing two hits and one unearned run.
“You get there and realize that everyone is good and there were about 300 scouts in the stands so your adrenaline was just running,” Ramos said. “It was a good wake-up call to make me feel like, ‘wow, I can compete with these guys.'”
He finally returned home last week but couldn’t complete the necessary five days of practice in order to be eligible in time for Saturday’s game against Castle. He was on the Campbell sideline for the 33-32 loss that dropped the Sabers to 0-2. He said he’ll be in uniform for Saturday’s game against No. 1 Mililani.
“I’m getting into football mode,” Ramos said. “I was sitting on the sidelines for the Castle game and it got me excited.”
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