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Baseball
Highly-touted pitcher who heads into junior season as consensus preseason first-team All-American (he was a third teamer in ‘98 and ‘99) ... ranked ninth on Baseball America magazine’s list of top pro prospects among college players and third among draft-eligible junior pitchers, behind Auburn’s Chris Bootcheck (4th) and Stanford’s Jason Young (7th) ... other top players include California third baseman Xavier Nady (1st), Clemson outfielder Patrick Boyd (2nd), North Carolina outfielder Tyrell Godwin (5th), Texas A&M outfielder Daylon Holt and Pepperdine catcher Dane Sardinha (8th) ... Notre Dame’s lone junior captain ... joined on BA’s list of five preseason first team All-America pitchers by Bootcheck, Young and two sophomores: Arizona’s Ben Diggins and UCLA’s Josh Karp ... also cited by BA for having the “best fastball” among BIG EAST Conference pitchers ... one of top pitchers on USA Baseball team in summer of ’99, with his teammates including Diggins, Young, Karp, Nady, Godwin and Holt ... drafted by New York Yankees in 54th round in ‘97 ... has made big strides under guidance of sixth-year pitching coach Brian O’Connor–who molded Brad Lidge into a ’98 first-rounder (he was a 42nd-round pick out of high school) and helped Tim Kalita develop into a seventh-rounder in ’99 (he was undrafted as a prep) ... throws three quality pitches for strikes ... his moving fastball has been clocked in the mid-90s and sets up an improving changeup ... added a tricky slider as a freshman ... his loose delivery allows for increased velocity ... known for throwing strikes and keeping the ball low ... a clutch big-game pitcher and unselfish teammate ... burst onto the scene as a freshman closer, when he led the nation with a 1.61 ERA (he shifted to No. 1 starter role in ’99)... first freshman to earn All-America honors in Notre Dame baseball history ... joins catcher Elmer Kohorst as only Irish baseball players to earn All-America honors in multiple seasons (Kohorst was a first teamer in ’56 and ’57) ... one of six all-time Notre Dame baseball All-Americans (he is the only pitcher among that group) ... first showed his ability to dominate as a starter in ’98 fall ... one of 73 Indiana natives who have lettered with Irish baseball ... noteworthy former Irish players who wore 22 include All-America outfielder Eric Danapilis (’90-’93). IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Heads into 2000 season ranked fourth in Irish history with a 2.56 career ERA (second-best since ’61; lowest by any Irish pitcher with 150-plus IP) ... could move up that list with strong junior season ... ninth in Irish history with 196 strikeouts (176 IP) ... needs 104 Ks to join David Sinnes (315, ’90-’93) as only Irish players ever to total 300-plus (needs 119 to break Sinnes’ record) ... averaged 10.0 Ks/9 IP in first two seasons, plus 56 walks and 135 hits allowed ... his nine-inning career averages include 6.9 hits and 2.9 walks, with a 3.5 K-to-walk ratio ... owns 18-5 career record while his 12 saves are tied for first in Irish history with Mike Coffey (’88-’90) and Chris Michalak (’90-’93) ... needs 12 wins to become sixth Irish pitcher with 30-plus career wins (he ranks seventh with .783 career winning pct.) ... his 51 appearances include 15 starts, six complete games ... owns 2.67 career ERA in BIG EAST regular season (11th in BIG EAST history) ... 9-4 with a 2.57 ERA in all games vs. BIG EAST teams (86 Ks, 84 IP) ... has logged 20 innings in five career outings versus West Virginia (2.25, 3-1, 1 SV, 19 Ks). WITH USA BASEBALL: Followed in footsteps of former Notre Dame infielder Brant Ust, who finished as Team USA’s third-leading hitter in summer of ’98 while playing third base ... only player on 22-man USA roster in ‘99 who hailed from a school in the Midwest or Northeast ... had unique experience of touring with Team USA during 39-game schedule through 14 cities in 10 states–plus a five-games series in Japan ... one of the top starters–and a part-time closer–on 11-member staff ... his 14 appearances included team-best seven starts, with a 4- 2 record and two saves ... his 3.84 ERA ranked third among pitchers with 25-plus IP ... second on team with 37 Ks (in 40 IP), plus 12 walks and 41 hits allowed ... allowed a .270 opponent batting average, with one wild pitch ... helped USA post 3.84 team ERA ... saved first USA win (3-1 vs. Mexico), striking out the two batters he faced ... picked up 9-0 win over Mexico (5 shutout IP) ... tossed three no-hit innings to save 7-1 win over Korea in Albuquerque, N.M. (1 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 5 GOs) ... posted 2.1 shutout IP in 8-3 win over Nicaragua in Boise, Idaho ... picked up 5-3 win over Nicaragua in Portland, Ore., recording four of final five outs (1 H, 2 K) ... logged 6.2 IP to beat Mexico, 15-5, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (5 R, 8 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 6 GO) ... also was invited to ’98 Team USA tryouts. AS A SOPHOMORE: Named a third team All-American by American Baseball Coaches Association and Collegiate Baseball while earning first team all-BIG EAST honors ... racked up 118 Ks (second in the BIG EAST) in 109 innings (third in BIG EAST, fifth in ND history), besting the 41-year-old Irish strikeout record set by Frank Carpin in ’58 (102) ... posted team-best 3.14 ERA and 11-2 record (both second in BIG EAST), becoming sixth Irish pitcher and first since ’94 to win 11-plus games ... allowed 89 hits and .217 opponent batting avg., sixth-lowest by an Irish pitcher since ’91 ... added three saves, six complete games and 37 walks ... allowed three home runs in 410 ABs ... 12 of 50 runs credited to him were unearned ... posted 3.2 K-to-walk ratio ... his 20 appearances included 14 starts ... led team with 11 wild pitches, second with seven hit batters ... led Irish with 38 Ks “looking” ... righthanders hit .211 vs. him (best on staff) ... allowed 32.7 percent of leadoff batters to reach base (third-best) ... led team with .225 opponent batting when runners were on base, ranking second with a .205 opponent two-out batting average ... led staff in groundout-to-flyout ratio (2.13) ... averaged 7.1 IP per start (three seven-inning complete games) ... his nine-inning averages included 38.2 batters faced, 9.54 Ks and 7.35 hits (all team bests), plus 3.06 walks and 11.06 groundouts (both third) ... basestealers were 12-of-16 vs. him ... posted 6-1 record in BIG EAST regular season (tied for league’s second-most wins), with a 3.04 ERA (third-best), 52 Ks (fifth) in 50.1 IP, 15 walks, 46 hits and a .238 opponent avg. ... posted 2.17 ERA and 5-1 record on the road (3.94, 6-1 at Eck Stadium) ... saved early 14-11 game at New Orleans (2 IP, 2 H, 2 K) ... had impressive seven-inning outing to beat Penn State, 3-1 (4 H, 1 UER, 5 BB, 8 K) ... won next six starts, including nine-inning, 11-K game vs. Creighton at Irish Baseball Classic in San Antonio (5-4, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 14 GO) ... tossed seven-inning, nine-K complete game at West Virginia (4-1, 3 H, 25 BF, 12 GO) ... added seven-inning complete game in 4-0 win at Villanova (5 H, 8 K, 10 GO) ... posted fourth straight complete game in 5-4 win over Providence (7 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 10 GO) ... pushed record to 6-1 with eight innings in 6-4 win over Detroit (5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 10 GO) ... added another seven-inning complete game to beat Pittsburgh, 4-1 (2 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 9 GO, 25 BF) ... picked up 8-7 win over Seton Hall (6.2 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 11 GO) ... posted 10 Ks in 7.1 IP to help beat Oakland, 7-6 in 10 innings (8 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 4 GO) ... notched 8-2 win at Georgetown (6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 7 K, 5 GO) ... became part of Notre Dame baseball history on May 12, as Irish nearly no-hit Miami in 1-0 win ... faced 17 batters over final five innings, giving up a two-out, two-strike single by Mike Rodriguez to shallow left field in the ninth ... Rodriguez stole second but Heilman struck out eventual USA teammate Manny Crespo with a 2-2 slider, handing Miami its first scoreless game since ’95 (Miami averted its first no-hit effort since ’58) ... his 72-pitch outing included seven Ks, four groundouts, three walks ... forced back into closer role at St. John’s and BIG EAST Tournament, due to John Corbin’s ankle injury ... saved 5-2 nightcap at St. John’s (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K) ... played leading role in bizarre 7-2 tournament win over West Virginia, after relieving Tim Kalita in top of the seventh (with the Irish leading, 3-0) ... gave up a leadoff single before setting down the next three batters ... the game then was delayed by rain until the next day, with Heilman pitching the eighth while the Irish stretched to 7-0 ... lefty Mike Naumann took the mound in the ninth but Heilman was moved to first base as a safeguard ... after Naumann worked into a jam, Heilman retook the mound with the bases loaded (7-2), serving up a game-ending double play ... capped memorable season with a 154-pitch, complete-game win over Creighton in NCAAs (8-1, 5 H, 6 BB, 7 K, 10 GO), earning a spot on the all-South Bend Regional team. AS A FRESHMAN: Capped memorable season by leading nation in ERA (1.61) and being named a third team All-American by CB, plus second team all-BIG EAST ... joined Ust as second Irish player to earn consensus Freshman All-America honors from CB and BA while sharing CB Co-Freshman-of-the-Year award with Nady and Auburn lefthander Hayden Gliemmo ... Notre Dame’s first recipient of a national freshman-of-the-year award and first freshman or sophomore ever named All-America ... posted eighth-best season ERA in recorded Irish history and third-best in the 20 years ... fashioned 33-inning midseason shutout streak over 19 appearances ... finished second on team in victories (7-3) while his team-leading nine saves rank second in Irish history behind Mike Coffey’s 10 in ’89 ... led staff with .198 opponent batting avg., second-best among Irish pitchers since ’91 ... finished 26 of 30 relief stints, allowing earned runs in only four relief outings ... his 31 appearances trail only Coffey’s 37 (’89) in the Irish record book while his 78 Ks in 67 IP rank 12th ... led staff with 10.5 Ks/9 IP and 4.1 K-to-walk ratio (19 BB) ... fourth Irish player to be NCAA stat leader, joining Shaun Fitzmaurice (0.34 triples/gm, ’64), Dan Peltier (32 doubles, ’89) and Scott Sollmann (11 triples, ’95) ... had five Ks in 4 IP for first win (5-2 vs. Loyola, La., at the University of New Orleans) ... ran his 33-inning shutout streak from March 1-April 28 ... tossed two shutout innings for 3-2 win over Cincinnati ... saved both April 4 games at Boston College (5-2, 6-4), with a bases-loaded K of heavy hitter Sean McGowan to end opener ... turned in gutsy shutout performance in 5-3, 15-inning win over West Virginia (6 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 5 K) ... picked up tense late-season win over St. John’s (2-1, 3 IP, 1 BB, 4 K) ... pitched four times in as many days at BIG EAST Tournament, with a save in 9-7 elimination-game win over Providence (2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K). PREP AND PERSONAL: Team MVP as a senior at Logansport High School ... helped team win two regional titles ... all-conference and all-state as a senior ... named Gatorade state player of the year as a senior (11-1, 1.06 ERA, 105 K, 34 H, 79 IP) ... listed as top pitching prospect in the state of Indiana by Baseball America ... compiled 34-8 combined record with Logansport and Walton Post 418 American Legion ... tossed perfect game as a freshman before 17-K performance in ’96 American Legion regional ... 10-3 as a junior (2 SV, 0.98 ERA, 81 IP, 87 K, 17 BB) ... member of National Honor Society ... served as yearbook photography editor ... father Joe Heilman ran track and field at Indiana University ... sister Michelle played softball at Saint Joseph’s College ... born Nov. 12, 1978, in Logansport, Ind. ... son of Joseph and Deborah Heilman ... full name is Aaron Michael Heilman ... management information systems major in College of Business. Honors and Awards
Heilman’s Career Statistics
Career vs. BIG EAST*
Saves: Villanova, Boston College (2), West Virginia, Seton Hall, St. John’s (2), Providence. * - includes BIG EAST Tournament
Career Bests
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