The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

Whiting, Ind. – May 31, 2015 – The 2015 Midwest Collegiate League season is on the verge of getting underway, but Oilmen manager Adam Enright is not done adding to the roster quite yet.

Enright has continued to bolster his pitching staff with the addition of Marian University right-handed pitcher Sam Bell.

“I honestly didn’t expect to be playing this summer,” Bell said. “I was going to give my arm a break, work and practice, but coach Enright texted me and asked if I was interested. I figured, why not?”

The Munster High School graduate went 1-4 in eight games (seven starts) for the Knights (NAIA) this season. He becomes the first Marian player and seventh Munster alum to play for the Oilmen.

The contingent of former Mustangs to play for the Oilmen also includes Ryan Wilkinson (2012), Jim Hinkleman (2012-2013), Scott Jerge (2013-2014), Anthony Gomez (2014), Craig Dedelow (2014) and Joe Jumonville (2015).

Bell will be reunited with Jumonville – his former high school teammate – this summer with Northwest Indiana.

“Me and him are like brothers, basically,” Bell said. “That’s what I’m most excited for really, being able to go to the games every day and watch him play again. I didn’t get to see him play at all this year, so that will be nice.”

Bell plans to work on improving his location and pitches while testing himself against tough competition during the summer months.

While some players have the chance to ease into their collegiate careers in a relatively pressure-free situation, that was not the case for the Marian hurler. Bell was called upon for his collegiate debut on March 17 – against Division-I Butler in Indianapolis.

He responded by turning in 4 1/3 solid innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and issuing no walks. Former Oilman Chris Marras went 0-for-2 against Bell in the game, while Brodie Meyer and Danny Pobereyko made appearances for the Bulldogs.

Although Bell displayed strong control for most of his debut, that was not the case when he delivered to Drew Small for the first pitch of his college career.

“The very first pitch of my college career, I pegged a kid,” he said. “Going back to my little league days, I was kind of known for that. I threw hard, but I didn’t know where the ball was really going. I got a little too hyped on that first pitch, and I really tried to overthrow it.”

Bell is expected to be in uniform on Monday night, when the Oilmen open the season in Joliet. A live broadcast of the game will be available on NWIOilmen.com with the first pitch slated for 5 p.m.