Jordan Petty is eager to get back on the mound for the Northwest Indiana Oilmen this summer.
After two injury-plagued college seasons, the 2016 Highland graduate is hoping for a repeat of his championship-winning Midwest Collegiate League performance from two summers ago.
“I’m in the best baseball shape I’ve been in since that summer,” Petty said.
Petty, the winning pitcher when the Oilmen took the MCL title in 2016, highlights the list of the team’s returning players.
They open the season on Memorial Day on the road against the Crestwood Panthers.
College baseball hasn’t gone as planned for Petty, who had just graduated high school when he first pitched for the Oilmen. After pitching in 30 1/3 innings over the last two seasons at Purdue Northwest, Petty will transfer to Indiana Kokomo this fall. While preparing for this summer, though, Petty’s been working with coach John Bogner and the Highland baseball team to find his old form.
“First and foremost, I want to work on staying healthy,” Petty said. “I’ll be working on limiting the number of pitches I throw per inning — I want to get quick outs. I want to go deep into games, and I can only do that if I keep my pitch count down.”
Oilmen manager Adam Enright was excited to have another opportunity to have Petty on the roster. He said Petty will be part of a deep pitching staff.
“Almost every guy we have on our staff was a starter and logged significant innings,” Enright said. “We’ll have to mix the rotation around a bit.”
As for the position players on the roster, Enright was looking for one staple of the NWI lineup in his managerial career.
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“In the last few years, we’ve been really fortunate to get guys with a lot of speed,” Enright said. “We look for guys who can help you win in a lot of ways and play a lot of different positions, because we like to move guys around.”
One players who fits that description is Chris Baker, who’s back for his third tour with the team after hitting .324 with a team-high 31 walks last season. Baker played under Enright at Trinity Christian, where Enright is an assistant under former Oilmen manager Justin Huisman. There he posted even better numbers: a .355 batting average with seven home runs and 44 RBIs in 51 games.
“He’s really figured it out at the plate,” Enright said of Baker. “A 180 from last season. I’m expecting him to be a big contributor.”
The Oilmen open the season with six straight road games before their home opener on June 5 against the DuPage County Hounds at Oil City Stadium in Whiting.
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.