By STEVE KRAH
Perseverance has paid for Ray Hilbrich.
Cut from the varsity his junior year in Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., he put in the work to succeed on the baseball field.
Hilbrich (pronounced Hill-Brick) played parts of five seasons at Purdue Northwest in Hammond, Ind., where he was decorated while starting 170 games for the Pride (2019-23).
As a graduate student in 2023, Hilbrich was on the all-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference first team and the NCAA Division II GLIAC Player of the Week in Week 11. He was also named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Midwest Region team. He also earned the GLIAC Spring Commissioners Award in 2023.
Swinging from the left side of the plate, Hilbrich hit .381 (61-of-160) with seven home runs, one triple, 14 doubles, 29 runs batted in and 35 runs scored in 45 games (all starts).
In five seasons (2020 was shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic and an extra year of eligibility was granted), he hit .358 (221-of-617) with 12 homers, seven triples, 39 doubles, 91 RBIs, 126 runs, 90 walks (five intentional), 17 hit by pitches and a .449 OBP in 171 games — all PNW career school records.
Hilbrich, who turned 23 in January, has the top three single-season batting averages (381 in 2023, .373 in 2022 and .362 in 2019), top three hit totals (61 in 2023, 59 in 2019 and 57 in 2022) and top two on-base averages at .482 (2023) and .479 (2022).
He also holds single-season marks for doubles (14 in 2023), slugging percentage (.613 in 2023), total bases (98 in 2023) and at-bats (163 in 2019) and is tied in homers (7 in 2023) and sacrifice flies (4 in 2019).
In the single-game records, he is first in at-bats (6 in 2023) and tied for first in homers (2 in 2023), hit by pitch (2 in 2023) and doubles (3 in 2023).
Hilbrich, a 6-foot, 190-pounder, has overcome to make himself a productive hitter.
“One of the major things I sort of struggled with in high school and the early years in college was the fear of getting out,” says Hilbrich. “I mastered mental capacity in the box to keep it simple — see-the-ball, hit-the-ball.
“I try to be on-time with the fastball. In pro ball the guys throw a little harder and they have way better off-speed (pitches).”
His defensive keys include getting a good read off the bat — something that’s easier when it’s coming off wood because of the sound — and staying in-position.
Dave Griffin is head coach at Purdue Northwest. Hilbrich first met him when he was very young and older brother Richard (who is now a lawyer in Cleveland) was taking lessons from Griffin.
Hilbrich uses terms like “old school” and “players’ coach” to describe the longtime coach/instructor.
“He leaves it up to you to know how to get better,” says Hilbrich. “It’s up to you to put in the work and the effort.
“I can’t thank him enough. I was walk-on at PNW. He gave me a shot my freshman year.”
When another player was off to a slow start, Hillbrich was inserted into the lineup a few games into the season and never left after that. The righty thrower has played in all three outfield spots, but mostly right field.
Born in Crown Point, Ind., Hilbrich grew up in Schererville, Ind., and attended St. John the Evangelist School in St. John, Ind., pre-K through Grade 8.
He played Little League and Babe Ruth at what is now St. John Youth Baseball before going to the traveling Hammond Chiefs with Jim Tucker then Dave Sutkowski as head coaches.
At Lake Central, Jeff Sandor (who was a disciplinarian) and Mike Swartzentruber (who was a combination disciplinarian and players’ coach who focused on the mental aspects of the game) were head coaching during Hilbrich’s time in the program.
“They had different coaching styles,” says Hilbrich. “Both of them are great coaches.
“I had to prove myself a little bit,” says Hilbrich, who played mostly right or left field for the Indians. “I have a lot to be thankful for. (Being cut from varsity) sort of lit a fire under me and made me work harder. The results pay off in the end.”
Hilbrich holds degrees in Politcal Science and History. Before signing in the United Shore Professional Baseball League, Hilbrich was accepted to Ave Maria University in Florida where he was offered a graduate assistant coaching job on a Gyrenes baseball staff that has Michael McCormick as head coach and Nicholas McCormick as assistant coach/recruiting director.
The McCormick brothers are graduates of Speedway (Ind.) High School.
Hilbrich, who went 5-for-8 in a March 12 doubleheader at Ave Maria, has considered pursuing a masters degree then a doctorate and become a Theology professor.
Throughout college, Hilbrich played in summer leagues. He was with the Isaac Valdez-managed Crestwood Panthers of the Midwest Collegiate League (rebranded to the Northern League in 2022) in 2019 and 2020 and finished with the Northwoods League’s Fond du Lac Dock (Wis.) Dock Spiders as a late-inning defensive replacement during the pennant push. Fon du Lac won its NWL pod championship.
He started the summer of 2021 with the NWL’s Kokomo (Ind.) Jackrabbits and finished it with the NWL’s Battle Creek (Mich.) Bombers.
In 2022, he was clubhouse manager for the High Class-A Midwest League’s Beloit (Wis.) Sky Carp and played some with the NWL’s Battle Creek Battle Jacks.
Hilbrich began this summer with the Northern League’s Lake County CornDogs (managed by Justin Huisman). He belted two home runs and drove in five in his season debut for the Crown Point-based team on May 27 and was NL League Player of the Week for game played through June 4. He was hitting .333 with four homers, 15 RBIs and 15 runs through 12 contests.
Last week, Hilbrich became the first CornDogs player to sign a professional baseball contract, joining the USPBL’s Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers. He went 3-for-8 with two doubles in his first two games.
The USPBL — based in the Detroit suburb of Utica, Mich. — has four teams (besides Birmingham-Bloomfield, there’s the Eastside Hoppers, Utica Unicorns and Westside Woolly Mammoths) sharing one stadium and training facilities.
Some midweek games are played with no fans.
Ray, Richard and sister Christine (who lives in Jacksonville, Fla.) are the offspring of pilot Richard Hilbrich and doctor’s office worker Barbara Hilbrich.