Mike Holba Class: Senior Hometown: Lansing, IL High School: Thorton Fractional South Height / Weight: 6-8 / 240 Position: First Baseman Birthdate: 05/17/1981 Experience: 1 MW Bats: Righthanded

Veteran first baseman who combines with rightfielder Kris Billmaier as only senior position players on 2003 squad ... part of a deep and talented group of DH candidates ... an accomplished athlete who had the option of attending college on a football scholarship, as a record-setting high school quarterback ... part of an athletic family that has seen all four of its boys go on to play collegiate sports ... his 6-8, 240-pound frame provides a big target at first base ... has added 15 pounds of muscle since the start of the 2001 season ... appeared in 28 games (six starts) during his first three seasons, batting .313 with six RBI and seven doubles ... played first base and left field while leading Gold to victory in the 2002 Blue-Gold fall intrasquad series, batting 3-for-7 (3 RBI, 4 runs, 2 doubles, solo home run, 2 walks and 2 times hit-by-pitch) ... also helped Gold team win 2001 series (5-for-11, 2 RBI, 2 R), including clutch two-out, 0-2 single through the right side for 3-1 lead in decisive third game (3-2) ... his strong showing in 2000 fall included belting four home runs in weekly intrasquad games ... played alongside Notre Dame teammates Ryan Kalita and Cody Wilkins on Waynesboro (Va.) Generals during summer of 2001, appearing in 26 of 40 games (22 starts) ... five other BIG EAST players also were members of that Generals team, including Virginia Tech pitcher Seth Brandy, Georgetown pitcher Eric Sutton and three Seton Hall players (outfielder Casey Grimm, pitcher Chris Noonan and shortstop Chris Carter) ... as was Arizona State's Eric Keefner (Notre Dame plays at ASU in the opening week of the 2003 season) ...one of 142 Illinois natives to letter with Notre Dame baseball program ... tallest ND baseball letterwinner on record in the program's all-time roster (data is incomplete for some seasons) ... one of five Chicagoland natives on Notre Dame's 2003 roster ... posted Dean's List semester (3.50) in fall of 2002, heading into final semester with a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average.

AS A JUNIOR: Hit .360 (9-for-25) in 11 games, with four DH starts ... totaled four RBI and six runs scored, with two walks ... drew start in 1-0 win over BYU, batting in No. 8 spot and scoring in the third ... after stroking one-out, 2-0 pitch into left-center for a double (scored on a two-base wild pitch) ... started in second game vs. Pittsburgh (12-2), helping break open 4-2 game with two-run double down leftfield line, in seven-run bottom of 6th ... hit 1-for-2 in opener vs. Virginia Tech (2-1) ... doubled and walked vs. Ball State (10-1) ... made most of final start, smacking three doubles (2 RBI), scoring three times and adding a walk in 10-3 win over Rochester College ... came off the bench later that day to hit 2-for-2 and score vs. Detroit (23-1).

AS A SOPHOMORE: Appeared in 12 games (all in first 40 games), primarily as backup first baseman ... made first career starts in wins over Eastern Michigan and Detroit ... hit .211 in 19 at-bats (2 RBI, 2 R, 2B, 3 BB) ... did not make an error in 20 fielding chances ... appeared in five BIG EAST games ... hit RBI single and scored vs. Texas-Pan American (14-9) ... went 2-for-4 as starting DH vs. Eastern Michigan, at the University of Pacific (4-3) ... filled reserve role in series-sweeping win over Seton Hall (15-3) ... appeared in four straight midseason wins, vs. Chicago State (5-2), Detroit (9-8) and Georgetown (15-4, 17-10) ... played key role as starting first baseman in close game with Detroit (RBI single, R) ... came off the bench in second wins of series vs. West Virginia (8-1) and Villanova (15-2).

AS A FRESHMAN: Saw limited action on squad that featured senior Jeff Felker starting 60 games at first base while sophomores Ken Meyer, Matt Bok and Paul O?Toole drew most of the DH starts ... appeared in five games, batting 2-for-4 with a run scored ... collected first career hit vs. Siena Heights ... hit safely vs. Boston College before scoring in 4-1 win over Chicago State (hit-by-pitch).

PREP & PERSONAL: Talented three-sport athlete at Thornton Fractional South High School ... team captain and MVP in football, basketball and baseball ... named 1999 first team all-state by Chicago Tribune, after batting .458 with 17 home runs (55 RBI, 10 2B, .975 slugging) ... his 17 HRs led the state, set a school record and were three shy of state record ... set school records for doubles and runs (58) in a season and career homers (31) ... led ?99 team to 29-7 record and regional final ... first four-year starter in school's baseball history ... three times all-conference, twice all-area ... helped baseball team win conference title as a sophomore ... played summer ball with Prairie Gravel ... named school's male athlete of the year, after earning all-state in baseball and football, all-conference in basketball ... Chicago Sun Times football offensive player of the year as a senior (1,776 passing yards, 16 TDs), when he led nationally-ranked squad while earning all-conference and all-city ... played in North/South all-star football game ... twice all-conference, all-area in basketball ... averaged 13 points, eight rebounds as senior center ... youngest of five children and tallest in a family that includes three brothers who played college football ... Academic All-Conference and an Illinois State Scholar ... member of National Honor Society ... brother Bob Holba (6-4) played football and baseball at Air Force ('82-'86) ... brother Bill Holba (6-3) was a tight end at Butler while brother Tom Holba (6-6) was reserve QB at Michigan State, both in late 1980s ... born May 17, 1981, in Chicago Heights ... his parents are Tom and Jackie Holba ... full name is Michael Andrew Holba ... political science and anthropology double major in the College of Arts and Letters.

Holba's Career Stats