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Baseball
Notre Dame Baseball Sweeps Weekly BIG EAST Conference Awards
May 8, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Notre Dame became the first team to sweep the weekly BIG EAST Conference baseball awards during the 2000 season, as junior shortstop Alec Porzel, junior righthander Aaron Heilman and freshman second baseman Kris Billmaier were honored today for their accomplishments during the week of May 1-7. Porzel was named BIG EAST player of the week while Heilman earned his eighth career pitcher-of-the-week award and his fourth of the 2000 season. No other player in BIG EAST history has totaled more than four career player or pitcher-of-the-week awards while Heilman's four awards in 2000 represent the most in one season ever by a BIG EAST player (he shared the previous record, with three in 1999). Billmaier rounded out the Irish award winners, sharing rookie-of-the-week honors with Pittsburgh freshman first baseman Brant Colamarino. Notre Dame has compiled 11 BIG EAST weekly awards in 2000-matching Rutgers for the most by any league school (six different Irish players have been honored by the BIG EAST, one better than RU's total). Heilman previously won the pitcher award on March 6, March 27 and April 17 while senior Scott Cavey received pitcher-of-the-week honors on Feb. 29 and April 24. Sophomore catcher Paul O'Toole (March 13) and freshman rightfielder Brian Stavisky (April 24) have earned the player award while righthander J.P. Gagne picked up the April 10 rookie award. Notre Dame has produced at least one award winner in eight of 11 weeks this season. In the four seasons in which the BIG EAST has presented three weekly awards (player, pitcher and rookie), one team has swept all three awards just four times: Rutgers on May 4, 1998 (Dave Marciniak, Mike Mundy, Jake Daubert), Pittsburgh on April 6, 1999 (Lou Melucci, Josh Knauff and Mike Gonda), Notre Dame on May 12, 1999 (Jeff Felker, Scott Cavey and Paul O'Toole) and Notre Dame on May 8, 2000 (Porzel, Heilman and Billmaier).
Porzel (Lisle, Ill./Naperville North HS) led the Notre Dame regulars in several categories during six games last week , including a .519 batting avg. (team-best 14 hits in 27 at-bats), 30 total bases, 11 RBI, seven extra-base hits (three doubles, one triple), four home runs, a 1.111 slugging pct. and nine runs scored. He had just one strikeout for the week and helped the Irish play error-free defense in the Pittsburgh series (he had just one error for the week, in 19 chances). He hit 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position, 5-for-7 with two outs and reached on 4-of-6 leadoff at-bats. Porzel's single-game highlights included a 3-for-3 effort and run scored in a 5-3 win over Oakland (Mich.) on May 3. He then smacked a walkoff home run to give the Irish a 10-inning, 11-8 win over Pittsburgh in the May 6 nightcap (marking the third straight season that he has hit a walkoff home run in a BIG EAST game). Porzel closed the week in the May 7 game vs. Pitt (a 22-18 loss) with one of the most noteworthy accomplishments in the history of Notre Dame baseball, by batting 6-for-6 and hitting for the cycle-including both a traditional and an inside-the-park home run. He became the first player to record six hits in a game in the 109-year history of Notre Dame baseball and is the first Irish player to hit for the cycle since at least the mid-1980s (boxscore records are incomplete prior to '85). He also tied the BIG EAST single-game hit record, joining former Seton Hall players Dana Brown (vs. Villanova, '89) and Josh Vath (vs. UConn, '98) on that short list, and his 15 total bases came three shy of the BIG EAST record, set by UConn's Jeff Uccello in a 1996 game vs. Boston College (4 HRs, 2B).
Heilman (Logansport, Ind.) flirted with a no-hitter into the 6th inning of the seven-inning opener vs. Pittsburgh on May 6, en route to a 7-0 victory, his BIG EAST-leading eighth complete game of the season and his second shutout of 2000 (third of his career). Heilman, who pushed his season record to 10-1 (7-0 in seven BIG EAST starts), set down the first 10 batters he faced before yielding a walk and hit batter in the 4th and two hits in the 6th. His 76-pitch outing included just 24 batters faced and eight strikeouts-pushing his BIG EAST-leading season K total to 102 and his career total to 298 (he set the Irish season record in '99, with 118, while '93 grad David Sinnes owns the career mark of 315). Heilman has won his last 10 decisions-becoming just the second Irish pitcher to accomplish that feat and the first since Frank Scanlan went 10-0 in 1908. He lowered his season ERA to 2.21 and became one of two players (as of May 6) in Division I baseball who own a season ERA of 2.3 or lower, 10-plus wins and 100-plus strikeouts (his former USA teammate Len Dinardo of Stetson was 13-1, with a 2.22 ERA and 115 Ks, as of May 6).
Billmaier (Woodinvale, Wash.) made some key contributions during the week, particularly in the final two games of the Pittsburgh series as the Irish coped with the absence the of one of their top hitters, injured senior Jeff Felker. Billmaier led all Irish players during the week with a .538 batting avg. (7-for-13) and ranked third on the team during the week with eight runs scored, despite not playing in one of the games and starting just three. He also ranked second on the team during the week with 15 total bases, including a pair of home runs and two doubles (plus one walk). He was perfect on all nine of his fielding chances and hit 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Billmaier was pressed into the starting lineup for the May 3 doubleheader vs. Oakland, as regular starting second baseman Jeff Perconte was attending the All-Sports Banquet. Billmaier responded to the challenge in the 9-3 opener by sparking ND's seven-run 2nd inning with a leadoff single and run scored He then stroked a solo shot in the 2nd inning of the nightcap for a 4-0 lead and the eventual winning run (5-3). Billmaier was inserted into the lineup in mid-game of the May 6 nightcap vs. Pitt and delivered an RBI double and run scored in the 6th, a walk and run in the 8th and a third run scored in the winning 10th inning. He capped his big week in the May 7 series finale, with a three-run homer in the 6th, an RBI double and run scored in the 7th and an RBI single and run in the 8th.
BIG EAST Record Book Update
NOTRE DAME RECORD BOOK UPDATE
UPDATED BIG EAST STANDINGS
* - Clinched spot in six-team BIG EAST Championship (May 17-20 at Somerset Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J.), seedings are based on conference winning pct.
POSSIBLE TIEBREAKERS ND: 2-1 vs. SHU - Can finish 1st-3rd
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