The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

Whiting, Ind. – April 10, 2018 – The Northwest Indiana Oilmen have added a dual threat with a winning pedigree to their roster for the 2018 season.

The team has announced the addition of Alex Voss, who is expected to contribute as both an outfielder and a right-handed pitcher when he joins the Oilmen following his senior year of high school.

Voss, who has signed his National Letter of Intent to play collegiately at Butler beginning this fall, heard favorable feedback about playing for the Oilmen from family friend Danny Torres, whose father is one of Voss’s high school coaches. Torres played for the Oilmen last summer.

“I plan to bring competitiveness to the diamond this summer,” he said. “I’m never going to give up. I always hustle and leave it all out there on the field. Winning means the most to me; I try to win every game.”

As a junior at South Bend St. Joseph, Voss helped the Indians to the school’s first ever state championship. He hit .390 with one home run and 19 RBIs while finishing with an 8-0 record and 1.44 ERA in 48 innings. Voss was a team captain and received second-team all-conference accolades.

“It was a lot of fun making the run to Indianapolis and receiving the recognition that comes with winning a state title,” he said. “I was able to play and step into a major role right away on varsity. Our coaches really care about their players on and off the field. They want to make you the best baseball player and the best young man possible.”

Voss hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning of a semistate game last season that helped carry St. Joseph to Victory Field. That was his first home run of the season and the third of his life. He then took over on the mound, pitching the final two innings to close out the semistate victory.

The newest Oilman is excited about the chance to stay in state and play for Big East member Butler when his collegiate career gets underway. The Bulldogs are currently 18-8 in 2018 after enjoying their first winning season in 13 years in 2017 under head coach Dave Schrage, who was then in his first season.

“Butler has always been my dream school,” he said. “It has great academics, which is at the forefront of my decision. I’m thrilled with the opportunity to play baseball in a competitive conference. I’ve always liked the Big East. Butler is located in Indy, which is a great city. All of those factors made it an easy choice.”

He’ll join the list of Butler Bulldogs to play for the Oilmen that also includes Brodie Meyer, Danny Pobereyko, Chris Marras, Nick Saldutti and most recently Joe Graziano.

Away from the diamond, Voss played basketball for his first three years of high school but did not participate as a senior in order to focus all of his attention to the sport that he will play at the next level and to avoid a risk of injury. He also enjoys collecting baseballs and baseball cards.

Voss plans to use the summer to adjust to competing against older players to help ease the transition once he makes his way to Indianapolis.

“I’m currently working on developing a slider as a fourth pitch that I can use to get hitters out,” he said. “On the offensive side, I want to be more consistent with putting the ball in play. Strikeouts are not good. When you hit the ball, you force the defense to make the play and you can drive people in. Putting the ball in play makes things happen.”