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A softball is a spherical, neon yellow, leather projectile held together by two red seams that span its approximately 12-inch circumference. Angie Ramos, who’s played softball since she was 7, is well-acquainted with its appearance.

Ramos never had much difficulty hitting it before, so she became Syracuse’s starting left fielder as a sophomore in 2023. But whenever she came up to bat last season, that projectile became unrecognizable. Its familiar hue had faded to white. Its seams had disappeared. And its circumference had seemingly shrunk to a minuscule 5.28 inches — the dimensions of a golf ball.

“I was like, ‘I’m swinging my hardest, I swear it’s a strike,’” Ramos said. “And then it just went right through my bat.”

The softball was still the same, yet Ramos’ perception was completely skewed. She said she lost all confidence amid the worst slump of her career, a 2024 campaign where she totaled a career-worst .161 batting average. But this season, Ramos has flipped the script, notching career highs in nearly every offensive statistic.

Her .357 batting average soars above her previous high of .235. Ramos’ slugging percentage, which hadn’t eclipsed .300, now sits at .429. She’s already doubled her previous career high in runs batted in, while her 30 hits and 14 runs scored also mark career bests.

Ramos entered her junior year in 2024 expecting to maintain her starting spot in left field. An opening day start against Bucknell reinforced those expectations.

However, she quickly fell out of the lineup in SU’s next game against Coastal Carolina. Ramos didn’t start again until the Orange’s 12th game against Northwestern State. After that contest, she sported a .125 batting average.

“(Being benched) was definitely hard, but at the same time, I knew why,” Ramos said. “It was simply because I wasn’t hitting.”

Eighteen games into the season, she had an opportunity to break back into the fold. Head coach Shannon Doepking wanted to help Ramos find her rhythm, so she logged four starts in a six-game stretch against Le Moyne, Norfolk State and Virginia. But Ramos registered just one hit in five at-bats, maintaining her .125 batting average.

“When she gave me the opportunities, obviously I was like, ‘I need to hit, I want to hit,’” Ramos said. “It just happened that I didn’t take this opportunity.”

It was an all-around tough time for Ramos. She said she was crumbling academically under the pressure of her junior-year course load. And she was still grappling with her grandfather’s death a year prior.

“She has high expectations of herself both in sports and academically,” Ramos’ mother, Raquel, said. “I told her, ‘No matter what happens, you are enough.’”

Those off-the-field factors only compounded her play on the field. Nearly a month passed before her next start, a home contest against Colgate. She capitalized with a hit and a walk, but it didn’t lead to increased playing time.

Ramos played just once in the next three-game series against Seton Hall before not playing in the ensuing series against Pitt. Two weeks after her performance against Colgate, Ramos picked up her final start of the season versus Le Moyne. After starting 57 of her past 73 games in 2023, she finished 2024 with just eight starts across 29 matchups.

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Following her junior season, Ramos concluded she wouldn’t continue playing softball after college. But as she entered her senior year, she wanted to ensure she left the game with zero regrets. Sean Panado aimed to help her achieve that.

Panado owns 4sight Academy, a gym in San Diego, Ramos’ hometown. In his free time, he plays adult league basketball with Angelo Altoveros, Ramos’ boyfriend. Panado primarily trains basketball players, but Altoveros thought he could help Ramos reach new levels.

“I just reminded her, ‘You’ve invested so much time, energy and effort. And a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this big move across the country to play this one sport,’” Panado said. “The least you could do is get proper closure to this part of your life.”

The two trained together two-to-three times per week for eight weeks throughout the offseason, depending on Ramos’ availability. Panado wanted to hold her accountable. But he also ensured she had time to relax and enjoy her family’s company.

In their program, Panado placed a heavy emphasis on rotational movements, hoping they’d translate to more power in her swing. Additionally, they had extra effects on the mental side of her game.

Occasionally, Ramos would practice hitting with Altoveros in her spare time. Panado told her to update him on how those sessions went. He’d never trained a softball player before, so he wanted to incorporate that information into her program. When Ramos started telling him she was “hitting bombs,” Panado knew she’d regained her confidence.

Ramos didn’t make any mechanical changes to her swing that offseason. She didn’t need to. Rediscovering her confidence was all she needed to make a leap.

“(Something) I don’t think is talked about enough is how mental the game is,” Ramos said. “It’s just being able to compartmentalize between softball, school, family and everything else in life.”

To open her senior year, Ramos’ name was etched into SU’s opening-day starting lineup against Le Moyne. She took full advantage of the opportunity, reaching base three times and stealing two bags.

That led to six consecutive starts to open the season, where she hit for a .375 average. Despite her early success, Ramos hadn’t registered an extra-base hit yet.

Raquel and Marvin, Ramos’ father, had been waiting years for their daughter’s first collegiate home run. They saw her wallop balls over the fence in high school. They knew she had the physical capability. Yet, she hadn’t homered at Syracuse.

Then came SU’s ninth game of the season against Long Island. In the fifth inning, Ramos faced Gigi Clavel. When she crushed a fly ball deep into left field, she said she couldn’t tell if it was leaving the yard. But once she heard her teammates cheering, she knew it was gone.

Her parents watched on, albeit from 2,700 miles away. As Raquel watched her daughter round the bases, she said tears started welling in her eyes.

“When we were watching that game, me and my husband were saying, ‘Come on, come on! We know you can hit a home run before you graduate,’” Raquel said. “It wasn’t her wish come true, but it (was) our wish come true for her.”

Before Syracuse’s road series against Stanford in March, Ramos called her parents. As an only child, she knows how difficult it is for them to have a daughter three time zones away.

On the phone, Raquel beamed with pride over her daughter’s success. She urged Ramos not to put too much pressure on herself and gushed about how excited she was to see her play when SU visited Stanford. But Ramos could only think of one thing to say back.

“All these years, Mom, I’m finally here,” Ramos said. “I can see the ball again.”

Published on March 24, 2025 at 8:46 pm
Contact Mauricio: mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarSU