Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Matthew Holliman Selected ALL-Star

NAJCAA Baseball Freshmen All-Star Games-

USA Stadium Millington Tennessee

(Matthew was selected to play for the East team as a middle infielder.)-

More to come!!!

The NJCAA Baseball Coaches' Association will be sponsoring a 3-game Freshmen All Star series this summer at USA Baseball Stadium in Millington, Tennessee from June 13th through the 17 th of 2007. Actual games will be held on June 15 th and 16 th with practice days scheduled for June 13 and 14.

Players will be divided into two teams that will represent different regions of the NJCAA. The "West" team will consist of players from NJCAA member schools in Regions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, and 24. The "East" team will be selected from schools in Regions 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23.

Each team will consist of 20-22 players who will be selected by the head coaches for each team - Tom Arrington of San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas and Ray Birmingham from New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, New Mexico. Players are nominated by the head coaches at their respective NJCAA colleges

NJCAA East vs. West Freshmen All Star Series Itinerary

June 13 - Selected players arrive in Millington - evening practice for both teams

June 14 - Practice for both teams with "Scout night" for professional and college scouts

June 15 - Game #1 at 7:00 PM

June 16 - Game #2 at 1:00 PM, barbecue between games, Game #3 at 7:00 PM

June 17 - players depart

Head Coaches Information

Tom Arrington - East Team head coach
San Jacinto College - 5800 Uvalde Rd. - Houston, TX 77049-4513

Ray Birmingham - West Team head coach
New Mexico Junior College - 5317 N. Lovington Hwy - Hobbs, NM 88240-9121

First Professional Home Run Hit off of Major Leaguer Lance Cormier of the Atlanta Braves

Holliman takes down Braves
May 20, 2007

Mark Holliman tossed eight shutout innings and stroked his first professional home run to lead visiting Tennessee to a 6-1 victory over Mississippi on Saturday.

It was another strong outing for the 23-year-old right-hander, who has held the opposition without a run in five of his eight starts. His performance at the plate was a different story, since Holliman was 1-for-8 entering the game.

The strong outing for Holliman (6-1) is no surprise to him, as he has five scoreless outing so far this season, but the home run - a two-run shot in the second - was certainly unexpected.

"Yeah, I guess you could say I was definitely surprised that it went out," Holliman said. "I was down in the count, 1-2, and [Mississippi starter Lance Cormier] challenged me with a fastball. All I was trying to do in that situation was put the ball in play since I was behind in the count.

"A lot of my friends and family had come down from the Memphis area and, luckily, my dad was able to get the ball."

Holliman (6-1) took a no-hitter into the sixth before Braves pitcher Francisley Bueno broke it up with a one-out single up the middle. The University of Mississippi product issued a leadoff walk to J.C. Holt in the bottom of the first, then retired the next 16 batters.

"After that walk, I definitely got into a good rhythm early on," he said. "I was doing well locating my pitches and mixing them up, but once I had that momentum going early, my confidence really kicked up and I was able to ride that for a while."

Holliman ended up allowing two hits and a walk while striking out five. He has given up one run or fewer in seven of his eight starts and leads the Southern League in wins and with a 1.17 ERA.

Geoffrey Jones came on to pitch the ninth and surrendered an unearned run on one hit with one strikeout.

Tennessee grabbed the lead in the second when Josh Kroeger hit a leadoff double and scored on Casey McGehee's single to right field. Gary Gates drove in McGehee with a single before Holliman homered.

Kroeger had two doubles and a run scored, while McGehee was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

The Braves (29-14) avoided the shutout when Brandon Jones doubled home Brent Lillibridge in the ninth.

Cormier (0-1), working his way back to the Atlanta Braves, took the loss in his first rehab start. He gave up four runs on four hits with two strikeouts in three innings. --Michael Echan/MLB.com

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Vote for Holliman

5/3/2007

VOTE FOR SMOKIES' HOLLIMAN

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Smokies starting pitcher Mark Holliman is one of ten minor league pitchers nominated for Minor League Baseball’s “April’s Pitcher of the Month.” The poll, which can be found at www.milb.com, includes pitchers from all levels of the minor leagues. Holliman is the Southern League’s lone representative.

Holliman, a right-hander out of Germantown, Tenn., has been very impressive so far this season. He posted a 3-0 record in April, and currently leads all Southern League pitchers with a .033 ERA. Holliman did not give up his first earned run in the 2007 season until his fourth game, a 4-2 win against Carolina.

Smokies fans are encouraged to show their support and vote for Holliman. The ‘Fan Poll’ can be found on the bottom right-hand section of the www.milb.com home page.

CLICK HERE to vote for Holliman!

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Congratulations Matthew!

Mississippi Junior College regular season champions!

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Holliman's Big April

"PLAYER TO WATCH: After 26 2/3 innings, RHP Mark Holliman finally gave up his first earned run. It didn't matter, however. Holliman, 23, beat Carolina 4-2 to improve to 3-0. "That was inevitable," Holliman told the Knoxville News-Sentinel when asked about the end of his streak. In four starts, the former Ole Miss pitcher has a 0.33 ERA. "He has probably been the best pitcher in the Southern League for the month of April. What more can you say about him?" Smokies manager Pat Listach told the newspaper." SouthernLeague.com
"Mark Holliman's hot April earned him Player of the Week honors and the respect of his opponents in the Southern League." (Jerry Hale/MLB.com)

Other articles about Mark's big April:
Holliman continues stringing together scoreless innings
Smokies curl up with SL weekly awards