Hilt Leaves Big-League Legacy In Heading For Eastern Michigan

For the first time, Ashland University's baseball program has two alums in Major League Baseball at the same time.
 
Former Eagle right-handed pitchers Art Warren and Brandyn Sittinger are relievers for the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively – Sittinger just getting his first major-league call-up less than two weeks ago.
 
Their pitching coach at AU, Aaron Hilt, also recently made a move in his career, as he was named the pitching coach at NCAA Division I Eastern Michigan.
 
"Aaron was a major part of the overall success of our program for the past seven years," said Ashland head baseball coach John Schaly. "He did great things with our pitching staff and in recruiting, which is the lifeblood of a college team.
 
"Also, being an alum, we will miss him immensely, but we wish him the best in his career, and we know he will do great things for Eastern Michigan."
 
In his seven seasons on the Eagle coaching staff, Hilt helped Ashland to three Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, four NCAA Division II Midwest Regional appearances, and 2019 tournament titles in both the GLIAC and the region.
 
Hilt groomed both Warren, who has pitched parts of two MLB seasons with the Seattle Mariners (2019) and the Reds (2021), and is 3-0 with a 1.37 earned-run average and an opponents' batting average of .159 in 24 career games, and Sittinger, who, in his first three big-league outings, has an ERA of 3.00 and an opponents' BA of .182. Both Warren (2015) and Sittinger (2016) were MLB Draft selections.
 
As an Eagle pitcher himself, Hilt authored the program's last no-hitter, a seven-inning gem with 10 strikeouts in a 4-0 AU victory at Findlay on April 29, 2010. His career numbers include 23 wins, two saves, seven shutouts and 180 strikeouts, and he was second-team all-region and All-GLIAC in 2011.