When Noe Ramirez took the mound for the first time in his professional career on Sunday in Hickory, N.C., his family was almost 2,500 miles away at a backyard barbecue in Southern California, listening to the live play-by-play over the Internet.

They liked what they heard.

The 22-year-old right-hander recorded five strikeouts over five perfect innings before the Class A Greenville Drive dropped a 4-3 decision to the Crawdads.

"I just got off the phone with them here a little while ago and my mom was definitely tearing up," Ramirez said. "It's a huge deal. I'm blessed to have such a big supporting cast behind me. Between my family, my friends and people going all the way back to [Alhambra High School], it's really special."

Selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2011 Draft, the Cal State-Fullerton product experienced elbow and shoulder weakness on his right side during Spring Training. The organization decided to hold him back for precautionary reasons.

"They wanted to make sure it didn't get worse," Ramirez said. "So it just took some time to get everything going. I got a chance to strengthen my shoulder, and the rehab process went well. It was obviously tough for me because I wanted to get going right away. But I had to be patient. I don't want to question the way they do their stuff.

"Now I feel better than I've ever felt. Everything is positive."

That certainly was the case on Sunday.

Ramirez brought a balanced attack, retiring five Crawdads on strikeouts, four in the air and four on the ground. He was aided by a little homework he did during the Drive's 11-7 loss on Saturday.

"It was all just staying low in the zone and throwing strikes," said Ramirez, who threw 52 pitches. "I studied the hitters last night and they're definitely a strong team. They were hitting everything that was up in the zone or hung in there. I knew I had to be good at locating my pitches, which is something I've done pretty much my entire career."

Those pitches include a fastball that hovers in the low 90s and a changeup that Ramirez developed into a plus pitch under the direction of his college coach, Dave Serrano. But it's the slider that the California native is looking to focus on as he embarks on his professional career.

"Once I got back and was able to start throwing, I've been working on it hard again," Ramirez said. "I want to have three pitches that I can take pride in, and it's progressing pretty well. ... There used to be a few counts when I'd go away from the slider. Now I'm trying to throw it when I should. It was looking good tonight."

The 2011 second-team All-American also said that as well as his pro debut went, he knows he still has a lot of work to do.

"I'm human," he said. "I'm bound to have my hiccups here and there. But if I can keep progressing mentally and physically as I go along here and keep staying down in the zone, everything will turn up all right."

Jason Garcia surrendered three runs in the seventh in relief of Ramirez. The Crawdads walked off with the win when Jeremy Williams singled home Drew Robinson in the ninth.