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
Porzel has emerged as one of the BIG EAST's top all-around offensive
players for the 2000 season, ranking 3rd in the conference for overall hits
(70), doubles (19) and triples (4), 2nd in total bases (121), 4th in RBI
(48), 7th in home runs (8) and 8th in slugging pct. (.611) ... in BIG EAST
games only, Porzel ranks 6th among conference players in batting avg.
(.384) while leading the league in RBI (25), doubles (10), total bases (6)
and slugging pct. (.698)-plus ranking 2nd in hits (33) and 4th in home runs
(5).
Heilman leads all BIG EAST players in overall wins (10-1), Ks (102) and
complete games (8) while ranking 2nd in low opponent batting avg. (.213)
and shutouts (2) and 3rd in ERA (2.21) and innings pitched (85.2) ... in
conference games only, Heilman leads all BIG EAST players in wins (7-0), Ks
(60) and complete games (7) while ranking 2nd in opponent avg. (.215) and
shutouts (2), 3rd in IP (50) and 4th in ERA (2.52).
Heilman's 2.60 career ERA in BIG EAST play ranks 10th all-time among
players with 36-plus IP (he has 124.2 IP)-but also ranks 6th among those
with 60-plus IP and 2nd among those with 100-plus (former St. John's
pitcher and current Major Leaguer C.J. Nitkowski posted a 1.93 from
'93-'94, in 102.2 IP) ... Heilman ranks 3rd on the BIG EAST career K list,
with 137, trailing only former Boston College four-year pitcher Doug
Macneil (144, '88-'91) and Seton Hall first-rounder Jason Grilli (164,
'95-'97) ... despite just two seasons as a starter, Heilman is tied for 2nd
on the BIG EAST list for career wins in conference games (15-3), two back
of former Providence pitcher Todd Incantalupo ('95-'97) ... Heilman also is
tied for 4th in BIG EAST history with 12 career complete games (in
conference play) while he is one shy of tying the BIG EAST season records
for wins (8) and complete games (7).
NOTRE DAME RECORD BOOK UPDATE
Heilman needs 17 Ks to break his own ND season record (118, '99) and
needs 18 to break David Sinnes' ND career record (315) ... he also ranks 2nd in the ND record book with a 2.44 career ERA-just shy of the 2.36 posted from 1959-61 by Nick Palihnich (who threw 149 career innings, compared to Heilman's 262) ... Heilman also ranks 8th at Notre Dame in career appearances (65) and innings (261.2) and 6th in career victories (28, two out of 4th) while his .824 career winning pct. (28-6) ranks 4th all-time at ND and best since 1924.
Heilman's other single-season stats have him tied for 6th in the ND
record book for complete games (8), tied for 7th in wins (10-1), 7th in low
opponent batting avg., since 1991 (.213) and 5th in winning pct. (.909,
10-1) ... he needs two more wins to join Tom Price as the only ND player
ever to post 12-plus wins in a season (Price won 14 in '94, 12 in '93).
Porzel is tied for 8th on the ND career home runs list (28), just one
behind Eric Danapilis ('90-'93) ... Porzel's 10 triples rank 9th in ND
history (Gene Duffy had 11 from '57-'59) and he also ranks 9th with 45
career doubles (Joe Binkiewicz had 48 from '89-'92) ... in terms of
single-seasons stats, Porzel's 19 doubles in 2000 already are tied for 10h
in the ND record book (two shy of 5th) while his seven sacrifice flies are
tied for 2nd, two back of the record set by Robbie Kent in 1994.
UPDATED BIG EAST STANDINGS
| | Team | Rec. | Pct. | Games Left | High Finish | Low Finish |
| 1. | *Rutgers | 17-3 | .850 | @ND | .870 (20-3) | .739 (17-6) |
| 2. | *Notre Dame | 16-6 | .727 | RUT | .760 (19-6) | .640 (16-9) |
| 3. | *Seton Hall | 15-7 | .682 | @SJU | .720 (18-7) | .600 (15-10) |
| 4. | *Connecticut | 14-9 | .609 | BYE | .609 (14-9) | .609 (14-9) |
| 5. | *Boston College | 11-9 | .550 | @PITT | .609 (14-9) | .478 (11-12) |
| 6. | Pittsburgh | 9-12 | .429 | BC | .500 (12-12) | .400 (9-15) |
| 7. | Villanova | 8-12 | .400 | @WVU | .478 (11-12) | .348 (8-15) |
| 8. | St. John's | 8-12 | .400 | SHU | .478 (11-12) | .348 (8-15) |
| 9. | West Virginia | 7-12 | .368 | VILL | .455 (10-12) | .318 (7-15) |
| 10. | Georgetown | 1-24 |
* - 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
SHU: 1-2 vs. ND - Can finish 2nd-4th
UConn: 2-1 vs. BC - Can finish 3rd-4th
BC: 3-0 vs. VILL ... 2-0 vs. SJU ... 1-2 vs. UConn - Can finish 5th-6th
PITT: 1-1 vs. WVU ... 1-2 vs. VILL, SJU - Can finish 5th-9th
WVU: 2-1 vs. SJU ... 1-1 vs. PITT ... TBD vs VILL - Can finish 6th-9th
VILL: 2-1 vs. PITT ... 0-3 vs. BC ... 1-2 vs. vs. SJU ... TBD vs. WVU
- Can finish 6th-9th
SJU: 2-1 vs. PITT, VILL ... 1-2 vs. WVU ... 0-2 vs. BC - Can finish
6th-9th
