Oilmen add Brad Wood of Northern Illinois to 2015 roster Whiting, Ind. – Feb. 6, 2015 – The last time a member of the Wood family played for the Northwest Indiana Oilmen, the team won the Midwest Collegiate League Championship. The Oilmen hope for similar results as Northern Illinois freshman Brad Wood joins the fold for 2015. Wood’s brother Kyle (Purdue) played for the 2012 league-champion Oilmen. Brad Wood has the goal of making a name for himself in the city of Whiting this summer, just like he did during his successful prep career at St. Laurence High School. “Kyle was held in the highest regard around St. Laurence, so early on Brad felt like he had to live up that a little bit,” St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus said. “Once he let that go, Brad figured it out and he was a star his junior year.” Part of the appeal of attending Northern Illinois was the chance to serve as a two-way player. He thrived both at the plate and on the mound for St. Laurence, so much so that Lotus hesitated to list the strongest aspect of his game. Wood’s freshman year was thrown for a bit of a loop with the departure of coach Ed Mathey, but the transition to new coach Mike Kunigonis has been smooth. Wood primarily throws a fastball and changeup, while occasionally mixing in a slider. He attended 4-5 games at Oil City Stadium in 2012, enjoying the night games with the oil refinery backdrop. Wood leaves little doubt that he hopes to help the Oilmen rekindle the success of 2012. “Hopefully we’ll win the league, because I’m not a big fan of losing,” he said. “It would be nice to win. I’ll also be working on fine-tuning my game over the summer and going into the offseason feeling good about myself.” Among the highlights of Wood’s prep career was throwing a no-hitter in a 7-0 victory over St. Rita last spring. However, it was a different game against rival St. Rita that stands out to Lotus as the most memorable moment of Wood’s high school years. Wood threw nine strong against St. Rita, but St. Laurence fell 1-0. After the game, the team was understandably upset. “He was the guy after the first few minutes of being down and upset that said, ‘Hey, we played a great game,’” Lotus said. “I don’t think he would have taken it that way his junior and sophomore years. It would have been a different type of Brad.” |