Kiana Wood accomplished a feat many pitchers dream of: Every batter she faced failed to reach base—a perfect game.

However, at the time, Wood wasn’t sure what a perfect game was.

“[My dad] was like, ‘Yeah, you don’t know a lot of people that have thrown those,’ and I was like ‘OK guess I’m doing pretty good then,’” Wood said.

Either way, Wood is off to a great start this season.

She was named GNAC Pitcher of the Week in both weekends Central has played this season. Her 1.45 ERA ranks second in the GNAC.

She’s posted that ERA pitching 43.1 innings so far this season. Her record stands untarnished at 6-0 in seven starts and three relief appearances.

“I started off by watching my older sister play,” Wood said. “I did not like softball when I was younger, but when my sister got older, the games went faster, and I just thought it was really interesting.”

Wood became interested in softball when she was 9 years old.

She attended one of her older sister’s practices and asked her dad if she could play catch with him. He told Wood she had a really good arm for someone who had never thrown before.

During her first Single-A practice, nobody wanted to play catch with her because she threw so hard. She went up to Double-A and the same thing happened. Eventually, she ended up playing on her sister’s Triple-A team.

Wood played outfield for most of her softball career, but she started pitching part-time in middle school.

“I thought it was really nerve wracking, because you’re the center of attention and I’m really shy, so I didn’t like the attention,” Wood said. “Now I don’t really feel like it’s that scary because I have eight other players with me.”

She played the outfield in her first season at Aloha High School in Oregon. Wood didn’t become a full-time pitcher until her junior years.

Wood got to play one season with her older sister in high school. She beat out her older sister in a position battle for the outfield.

“That wasn’t really fun in the family household,” Wood said.

Wood began to realize her potential as a full-time pitcher when coaches at a softball camp asked why she was playing outfield with the throwing arm she had.

Wood pitched three perfect games in high school and one perfect game in club ball. She also broke the school strikeout record her junior and senior year.

“In high school, I was known as the triple threat just because I could hit, pitch and slap,” Wood said.

Wood got offers from the University of Washington and University of Oregon, but Ellensburg felt more like home to her compared to a big city.

Mallory Holtman-Fletcher, former head coach, recruited Wood.

Wood liked how Holtman-Fletcher talked about school and grades, not just softball.

She also liked that if she came to Central she would have a chance to start right away.

After Wood found out that Central had her major, information technology and administrative management, she was given an offer she just couldn’t refuse.

“When she offered my full ride…I couldn’t really turn that down,” Wood said. “Free college is free college.”

When Wood arrived at Central she left an early mark on her new team.

“I was scared of her to be honest; she was a really good pitcher,” senior outfield Michaela Hazlett said. “I was like, ‘Oh gosh, if she hits me it’s going to hurt.’”

Wood and Hazlett became roommates this school year and are close friends.

During her freshman season, Wood pitched the second game of double-headers for the Wildcats, but started one game in the post-season: the third game of regionals against the University of California San Diego.

Former Wildcat Maria Gau couldn’t pitch because of back problems. The Wildcats won 10-1 and Wood pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits.

“It’s the best game I’ve probably thrown,” Wood said.

Wood became the team’s ace in 2015. It took some adjustment for Wood, as she was not able to watch the first game of the double-header and get a good idea what to expect.

“Last year, I didn’t really feel mentally prepared, but towards the end of the season I did really good,” Wood said.

Central had a record of 20-23 overall and missed the playoffs. Wood went 6-9 with a 2.99 ERA—fourth in the GNAC.

Holtman-Fletcher, the coach who recruited Wood to Central, retired after the 2015 season. Mike Larabee was hired to become the Wildcats’ new coach.

Larabee called Wood right before the press release came out and shared his philosophy on pitching. Larabee favours a three-pitch, north-south approach.

Instead of throwing pitches that curve, Larabee wants his pitchers to either rise the ball, drop the ball or use a changeup.

“Her location has been pretty darn good, I think she averages less than two walks a game—I’ll accept that,” Larabee said.

Larabee has been working with Wood on hiding the grip of her changeup by her hip to make sure teams don’t pick up on her pitches.

“She’s been improving so much and working hard,” Hazlett said.

Wood describes herself as quiet, and Hazlett agrees with that to an extent.

“When she’s in a big group, she’s pretty quiet,” Hazlett said. “When you get one-on-one with her, she won’t stop talking.”

Next up, Wood and the Wildcats will be starting their GNAC portion of the schedule along with the Tournament of Champions competition in Turlock, Calif, in the beginning of April.