Bob Lutz: Shockers’ two-way threat Sam Hilliard didn’t give up on baseball

Sam Hilliard wasn’t heavily recruited out of Mansfield (Texas) High School, and that’s being kind.

He had one offer, from Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, and mostly sat the bench there as a freshman.

This kid with aspirations of playing in the big leagues someday wasn’t getting on the field for a junior-college team. Maybe it was time to adjust those dreams?

“I was on the cusp of not playing baseball,” Hilliard said.

He struggled to fill out his 6-foot-5 frame. A stomach issue in high school made it difficult for him to gain weight and the velocity of his pitches lagged, as did the power produced by his swing.

But Hilliard made one last-ditch effort to keep his baseball dreams alive when he transferred to Crowder Community College in Neosho, Mo., for the 2014 season. And he finally saw some results, batting .290 with 56 RBIs in 58 games and going 5-2 with a 2.14 ERA in nine pitching appearances covering 42 innings.

It was good enough to earn him a scholarship at Wichita State. Hilliard will be batting fourth when the Shockers open the 2015 season on Friday night at Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas, not far from where Hilliard grew up.

His parents will attend all three games of the weekend series.

“We’re beyond proud of him,” said his mother, Tamara Hext Hilliard. “He’s worked so hard and he’s always wanted to be a Division I player and make it to the major leagues someday. So, yeah, he’s living the dream.”

At least part of it. Hilliard’s hope of reaching the big leagues is a work in progress.

Hilliard calls himself a late bloomer and credits Crowder as the place he finally discovered he had the baseball ability he always thought he had.

“It kind of took off for me once I went there,” Hilliard said. “My arm got a lot stronger and I had some really good coaching.”

He’s now packing 225 pounds and the Shockers think he can be a thumper in the middle of the lineup. And also a valuable starting pitcher in midweek games, a role similar to one Ben Thomas had from 1995-97 when he batted .350 in 331 at-bats and went 21-2 as a pitcher with a 3.62 ERA.

“This is exactly what I wanted to do,” Hilliard said. “I love playing first base, love hitting, but I also want to be a starting pitcher. I just have to be sure to take care of my arm.”

That means Hilliard doesn’t do much throwing in practices.

“Lot of arm fakes and just holding the ball,” he said.

Hilliard went to Crowder with hope that he could turn his career around, but no guarantees. He admits to being a fringe player in high school, partially because he weighed 165 pounds as a junior and nothing he ate had the desired effect of adding weight.

Eventually, though, he got bigger and stronger. But the opportunity didn’t come until last season and Hilliard credits Crowder coach Travis Lallamand, a native of Girard, with helping turn the lock.

“Coach Lallamand and the rest of the coaches there really made me into the player, and the man, that I am today,” Hilliard said. “I probably wouldn’t be at Wichita State it it wasn’t for Crowder.”

Hilliard is easy on baseball eyes, especially because he’s a left-handed thrower and hitter. He’s capable of throwing in the low- to mid-90s, he said, and has flashed the kind of power at the plate someone his size should flash.

Wichita State pounced on Hilliard early, getting a commitment in the fall of 2013. Hilliard eventually received a few more scholarship offers during the 2014 season, but remained loyal to the Shockers, the first Division I school to show interest.

“I did some pitching in high school but I didn’t throw hard,” Hilliard said. “I was a little lefty and I really didn’t see college or pro ball in my future.”

By his senior year, though, Hilliard was encouraged enough to take the one scholarship offer he received rather than go to a four-year school and get on with his academic pursuits.

“I’ve loved baseball ever since I started playing,” Hilliard said. “I played every summer and it’s how I met most of my friends. I figured that who knows? Maybe I can just get better and get to a Division I school someday.”

Someday arrived.

“I really love it at Wichita State,” Hilliard said. “Coach (Todd) Butler is great and the facilities are top notch. You can’t beat this field and the indoor facility we have is incredible.”

There’s a lot of hyperbole spewing from Hilliard. And for good cause, given the uphill climb to get to where he’s gotten. His dream is still kicking.

This story was originally published February 12, 2015 at 4:02 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Shockers’ two-way threat Sam Hilliard didn’t give up on baseball."