IUP Athletic Hall of Fame
Bill Laubach played his final baseball game at IUP almost 20 years ago, but he enjoyed such an outstanding career that his name can still be found very high in almost every offensive category in the school record book.
Laubach teamed with fellow Hall of Famers Kevin McMullan and Mike Sobota to help IUP field some of its finest teams in school history. In 1988, Laubach's sophomore season, the Indians went 32-11, won the PSAC championship for the first time in eight years and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
IUP won its second conference title two years later when Laubach was a senior, going 35- 10 to set a school record for winning percentage at .778 that still stands.
Laubach was a star from the very beginning of his college career. He was named to the AII-PSAC West team as a freshman in 1987, batting .371 to help the Indians reach the 20-win plateau for the first time in school history.
The following year he batted a career best .384 with 56 hits in 146 at bats, had nine triples for what is still tied for the most in a season in school history and banged out 13 doubles, a record that stood until 2002. Laubach was chosen to the regional all-tournament team as the Indians played in the postseason for the first time ever as an NCAA member institution.
The hits kept coming the next two years for the speedy outfielder. Laubach knocked out 46 in 1989 and matched his career high with 56 his senior season when he was named to the PSAC all-tournament team. When all the numbers were added up at the end of his career, Laubach had a total of 210 base hits, a school record that has not been broken over the past two decades.
While many of Laubach's season records have slipped away as IUP increased the number of games played in recent years, he is still prominently featured in the career record book.
In addition to his record for hits, Laubach also owns the top spot in at bats with 593 and total bases with 300, ranks second with 33 doubles and 18 triples, third with 129 runs scored and 38 stolen bases, fourth with 106 runs batted in and seventh with a batting average of .354. Only three players have taken the field in more games than Laubach's 163.
Laubach returned to IUP to earn his bachelor's degree in 2000. He is currently the marketing director for Oakworks Inc. Laubach and his wife, Tracy, are the parents of Benjamin and Annie.
