| Copy the following link to your browser to listen to Smokies play-by-play announcer call the final out of the NO HITTER...! javascript:mp.play({w:'mms://a1272.v10869e.c10869.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/1272/10869/vooo1/mlb.download.akamai.com/14668/2007/aa/ten/audio/062107_holliman_nohit.wma',type:'a_free'}) Here Are A Few Articles covering the No HITTER Tennessee's Holliman no-hits Huntsville Smokies right-hander also cranks two-run homer in 3-0 shutout |
 Tennessee's Mark Holliman cranked a two-run homer to help his no-hit cause offensively
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Mark Holliman ended a personal four-game losing streak in style, hurling a seven-inning no-hitter as Tennessee blanked visiting Huntsville, 3-0, in Thursday's doubleheader opener.
Holliman (7-5) faced one batter over the minimum in a near-perfect effort. The 23-year-old right-hander retired the first six batters, issued a leadoff walk to Adam Heether in the top of the third inning and mowed down the final 15 men he faced.
He also helped himself at the plate, smacking a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Earlier this season, Holliman pitched eight scoreless innings on two occasions -- including a two-hit performance against Mississippi on May 19 -- but Thursday's no-no marked the first complete game of his professional career.
"I'm feeling on top of the world," said Holliman who had not pitched a no-hitter in high school or college. "As far as Little League, I don't even know if we kept stats back then."
Holliman struck out three batters and lowered his ERA to 2.49 in a game that lasted just one hour and 26 minutes. He threw 51 of 81 pitches for strikes, with his fastball topping out at 90 mph.
"I was mixing up my fastball, curveball, changeup and slider," said the University of Mississippi product, who also cranked a two-run homer in the fifth, his second of the season.
"Once I got into the fifth and sixth innings, I knew I only had a few more outs to go," Holliman said. "I didn't keep real quiet. It wasn't a no-talk situation."
Despite his laid-back demeanor, there were several near-hits that almost wiped out his gem.
"We had a couple close calls down the first-base line and third-base line," Holliman said. "It was definitely like one of those games I've always seen where guys are making plays behind you to keep things intact."
The no-hitter was the third in the brief history of Smokies Park, which opened on April 20, 2000. The first was a six-inning effort by Leo Estrella against the Orlando Rays on May 27, 2000. Nearly two years later, Rays pitcher Gerardo Garcia repaid in kind with a seven-inning no-hitter during a doubleheader.
Sam Fuld put the Smokies (38-33) on the board with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first.
After Jorge Cortes led off the fifth with a double, Holliman connected with a first-pitch fastball and drove his dinger to left-center field.
"I'd spoken with [hitting] coach [Barbaro Garbey] before," Holliman said. "If there's a runner in scoring position, he wants us to drive him in as if we were any other player. I was just trying to do anything I could to get that run in, and luckily for me it went over the fence."
Tennessee's Gary Cates, the only player with more than one hit, went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.
Starter Corey Thurman (2-4) took the loss for the Stars (38-33), giving up all three runs on seven hits in five innings. He didn't record a strikeout or a walk. Bo Hall allowed one hit in a scoreless inning of relief.
After the walk, Heether was forced out at second when Alcides Escobar bounced into a fielder's choice. Escobar advanced to second on a groundout by Thurman, but Mel Stocker flied out to end the inning.
| Mark Holliman Throws No-Hitter | ||
 Holliman: 7 IP, 0 H, 3 K, 1 BB | Sevierville, TN – Tennessee Smokies pitcher Mark Holliman no-hit the Huntsville Stars in game 1 of a double-header at Smokies Park on Thursday night as the Smokies won 3-0. An appreciative, early arriving crowd cheered Holliman (7-5) as the last batter was retired, and greeting him with a standing ovation during the post-game celebration. | |
Holliman was dominating from start to finish in game 1 tonight, facing just one batter more than the minimum. His only blemish on the night was a leadoff walk to Adam Heether in the third inning. Holliman fanned three batters through seven innings to notch his seventh win of the season. The no-hitter was the third ever in the history of Smokies Park since opening on April 20, 2000. Smokies pitcher Leo Estrella threw a six-inning no-hitter against the Orlando Rays on May 27, 2000. Orlando Rays pitcher Gerardo Garcia returned the favor to the Smokies on May 21, 2002, throwing a seven-inning no-hitter during a double header. Sam Fuld got the Smokies offense going early tonight with a lead off home run off Stars pitcher Corey Thurman (2-4), his second of the season, to give the Smokies a 1-0 advantage in the 1st inning. The rest of the game belonged to Holliman, as he mowed down the Stars batters one after another. For the game, Holliman threw 81 pitches, inducing twelve groundouts and six fly outs. To further help his cause, Holliman belted a two-run home run over the left field fence after a Jorge Cortes double to stake the Smokies to a 3-0 lead. He let his arm do the rest of the job. The entire Smokies team mobbed him after retiring Brenden Katin on a groundout to end the game, and tipped his cap to the fans during a post-game appreciative standing ovation. In game 2 of the double header, the Smokies completed the sweep with an impressive 4-2 victory over Huntsville. Matt Avery got the spot start for the Smokies, and pitched well in his first start after a rough beginning. Avery went three innings, giving up two runs and walking three batters. Adalberto Mendez (2-4) came in for two innings of scoreless relief to get the win, and Jim Henderson notched his fifth save as a Smokie in his return appearance after a stint in AAA Iowa. Huntsville jumped on Avery early in the 2nd game, plating two runs to take a 2-0 lead. Tennessee struck back in their half of the 1st inning with three runs of their own to regain the lead. The Smokies were aided by a couple of Stars errors in the inning, which helped score Jemel Spearman to get things going. The real damage was done by Issmael Salas with a two run single to score Casey McGehee and Jake Fox to stake the Smokies to at 3-2 lead. Tennessee never looked back after the first inning, and plated another run in the bottom of the third to go up 4-2. All in all, the Smokies touched up Stars starter Steve Hammond (3-7) for four runs, only one of which was earned. Mendez and Henderson slammed the door on the Stars offense to help Tennessee improve to 3-1 in the 2nd half of the season. | ||
6/21/2007
HOLLIMAN THROWS NO-HITTER
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Smokies pitcher Mark Holliman no-hit the Huntsville Stars in game 1 of a double-header at Smokies Park on Thursday night as the Smokies won 3-0. An appreciative, early arriving crowd cheered Holliman (7-5) as the last batter was retired, and greeting him with a standing ovation during the post-game celebration.
Holliman was dominating from start to finish in game 1 tonight, facing just one batter more than the minimum. His only blemish on the night was a leadoff walk to Adam Heether in the third inning. Holliman fanned three batters through seven innings to notch his seventh win of the season.
The no-hitter was the third ever in the history of Smokies Park since opening on April 20, 2000. Smokies pitcher Leo Estrella threw a six-inning no-hitter against the Orlando Rays on May 27, 2000. Orlando Rays pitcher Gerardo Garcia returned the favor to the Smokies on May 21, 2002, throwing a seven-inning no-hitter during a double header.
Sam Fuld got the Smokies offense going early tonight with a lead off home run off Stars pitcher Corey Thurman (2-4), his second of the season, to give the Smokies a 1-0 advantage in the 1st inning.
The rest of the game belonged to Holliman, as he mowed down the Stars batters one after another. For the game, Holliman threw 81 pitches, inducing twelve groundouts and six fly outs. To further help his cause, Holliman belted a two-run home run over the left field fence after a Jorge Cortes double to stake the Smokies to a 3-0 lead. He let his arm do the rest of the job. The entire Smokies team mobbed him after retiring Brenden Katin on a groundout to end the game, and tipped his cap to the fans during a post-game appreciative standing ovation.
In game 2 of the double header, the Smokies completed the sweep with an impressive 4-2 victory over Huntsville. Matt Avery got the spot start for the Smokies, and pitched well in his first start after a rough beginning. Avery went three innings, giving up two runs and walking three batters. Adalberto Mendez (2-4) came in for two innings of scoreless relief to get the win, and Jim Henderson notched his fifth save as a Smokie in his return appearance after a stint in AAA Iowa.
Huntsville jumped on Avery early in the 2nd game, plating two runs to take a 2-0 lead. Tennessee struck back in their half of the 1st inning with three runs of their own to regain the lead. The Smokies were aided by a couple of Stars errors in the inning, which helped score Jemel Spearman to get things going. The real damage was done by Issmael Salas with a two run single to score Casey McGehee and Jake Fox to stake the Smokies to at 3-2 lead.
Tennessee never looked back after the first inning, and plated another run in the bottom of the third to go up 4-2. All in all, the Smokies touched up Stars starter Steve Hammond (3-7) for four runs, only one of which was earned. Mendez and Henderson slammed the door on the Stars offense to help Tennessee improve to 3-1 in the 2nd half of the season.
The Smokies will take on the Huntsville Stars again on Friday night at Smokies Park beginning at 7:15 pm. The Smokies will send left-hander Donnie Veal (4-4, 5.54) to the hill to face Stars left-hander Lindsay Gulin (4-3, 4.11).
Holliman's Heroics  | ||
 Mark Holliman | KODAK, Tenn. – As the second game of a doubleheader ended with a second straight victory for Double-A Tennessee on Thursday night at Smokies Park, Cubs pitching prospect Mark Holliman was still trying to catch his breath. | |
Holliman (7-5) threw a no-hitter – the first for the Smokies in seven years – in the first game of the double-header, adding a two-run homer to secure a 3-0 Tennessee win over the Huntsville Stars. “I’m trying to catch my breath still,” Holliman said after the second game, a 4-2 Smokies win. “It’s been a long time since I’ve not given up any runs.” The 23-year-old did a lot more than that Thursday. Subtract a single walk, and Holliman would have had a perfect game. The 6’0 right-hander from Germantown, Tenn., who was selected by the Cubs in the third round of the 2005 draft from Ole Miss, entered the day with a 2.71 ERA and was winless in his last five starts. A few hours later, as soon as the final out – a groundout to third baseman Matt Craig – was recorded, he was being swarmed on the mound by teammates and coaches. A small crowd of less than 1,000, which swelled to more than 3,000 for the second game, witnessed the feat. Entering the seventh, nobody was bringing it up. “You just want something so bad,” Holliman said. “It’s hard to explain. You know you’ve got three outs to go. I was waiting for it to come across the infield. It’s never over ’til it’s over.” Holliman threw 51 strikes out of 81 total pitches. “That was probably the biggest key,” he said. Holliman didn’t just pitch a gem; he also hit a 350-foot shot to left-center in the fifth inning to cap the Tennessee scoring. With outfielder Jorge Cortes on second, Tennessee manager Pat Listach gave Holliman the sign to swing away although there was just one out. Anyone expecting a bunt was fooled. The ball landed well beyond the fence. “He said, ‘Go ahead and swing,’ ” Holliman recalled. “I don’t know what to say. Sometimes that happens. He (Corey Thurman) threw a fastball.” It was Holliman’s second home run of the season. His other roundtripper came just over a month ago back on May 19 at Mississippi, an outing that saw Holliman carry a no-hit bid into the sixth inning of that game. “He had his pitch and stayed with it,” Listach said. The last no-hitter thrown in the Cubs’ farm system had happened on April 20, 2005, at Class-A Peoria. That night, Cubs pitcher Sean Gallagher, Walt Nolen and Jon Hunton combined to no-hit the Cedar Rapids Kernels. “What do you say when a guy throws a no-hitter?” Listach asked. “I don’t think you can have a much better day. It was his day. He did everything he could to help himself out. He was outstanding.”
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