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Heilman Tosses Three Shutout Innings in USA Win

Aug. 4, 1999

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Notre Dame sophomore righthander Aaron Heilman (Logansport, Ind.) opened the game with three shutout innings, helping the USA Baseball national team post its 10th straight victory, 13-0, over the Wisconsin All-Stars in Tuesday night action at Joe O’Donnell Stadium.

Heilman allowed just two singles and one walk over the first three innings, with one strikeout and six groundouts. Heilman dropped his summer ERA to 2.43, fourth-best on the USA staff and second among pitchers with 20-plus innings. His summer includes a 3-2 record and two saves in 12 appearances (five starts), with 32 strikeouts, 10 walks and 30 hits allowed in 33.1 innings. He ranks second on the team in appearances and strikeouts while ranking third on the staff in innings and fourth in low opponent batting average (.240).

The USA (20-13) will conclude its summer season as one of the top-seeded teams at the annual National Baseball Congress World Series, a double-elimination tournament in Wichita, Kansas (first-round games begin Aug. 6).

The USA pounded out 18 hits, led by home runs from Texas A&M rightfielder Daylon Holt (three-run shot in the fourth) and UCLA leftfielder Bill Scott (solo shot in the fifth). North Carolina centerfielder Tyrell Godwin went 3-for-4 with three runs scored while San Francisco first baseman Tagg Bozied chipped in three hits and Wichita State second baseman Koyie Hill added a pair of doubles. Scott had four RBI in the game.

Oklahoma State lefthander Matt Smith worked four perfect innings of relief to pick up his first victory of the summer while Texas lefty Phil Seibel and Arizona righthander Ben Diggins (RHP, Fr, Arizona) each tossed one inning to help complete the two-hit shutout.

California third baseman Xavier Nady failed to hit a home run, snapping his home run streak at six games. He remains tied for fifth on the all-time USA national team single-season home run list, trails record holder Tino Martinez by five (’88).

USA 4, Arizona White Sox 3 (Tucson, June 29): UCLA righthander Josh Karp (6 IP, 3 H, 5 Ks) posted his fourth win of the summer, in a game at Hi Corbett Field versus college players from Phoenix … Nady hit his 10th homer of the summer and singled to lead the USA’s eight-hit attack … Arizona righthander Ben Diggins pitched the ninth inning to record his third save of the season … between the fourth and sixth innings, Karp retired eight consecutive batters, striking out four of them … Godwin ignited the two-run first inning, lining a ball just inside the third-base bag for a double … Arizona shortstop Keoni DeRenne followed with an RBI single up the middle, stole second and later scored on a wild pitch … Nady’s second-inning blast sailed over the fence in left-center … the USA scored its decisive run in the bottom of the seventh.

USA 6, Canada Juniors 5 (Tucson, June 30): Nady drilled his 11th homer to lead off the seventh inning, clearing the leftfield fence at Sancet Field … Team USA used wood bats while Canada used aluminum … USC righthander Mark Prior picked up the win in relief, retiring 11 of the 13 batters he faced … Miami utility player Manny Crespo smacked a two-out, two-run triple to right-center in the fifth to get Team USA even at 5-5, plating Nady and Bozied (who had doubled and walked) … Canada scored twice in the fourth to take a 5-3 lead, after Smith yielded a leadoff single to Russell Martin and a double to Alain Picard, followed by a run-scoring infield out and Andy Pempel’s single S the USA built an early 3-1 lead but Canada pulled even by making the most of three singles and an infield out S DH Conrad Funk delivered a bloop, two-out, two-run single into shallow right-center to tie the game S Canada scored in the first, after a single, stolen base, an infield out and a third-strike passed ball by California’s John Wilson S the USA answered with two runs of its own S DeRenne, playing on his collegiate home field, led off with a double and scored when Stanford outfielder John Gall’s sacrifice bunt was thrown away by Canada pitcher Ryan Brnardic S Holt also doubled and scored in the second.

USA 13, USA Juniors 2 (Tucson, June 31): The USA national team slugged five home runs — including two apiece by college teammates Nady and Tonis — at the University of Arizona’s Sancet Field S Holt added one homer to a 14-hit assault in support of Stetson lefthander Len Dinardo’s third win of the season, in a game shortened to seven innings S Nady cracked the top-10 list among USA baseball sluggers with his 12th of the summer in the first inning, moving him into a tie with Pat Burrell (’97) and Robin Ventura (’88) for ninth place on the all-time list … Nady tied Matt Mieske (’89) for eighth when he homered in the seven-run sixth inning … Tino Martinez is the single-season record holder with 20 homers in ’88 S DeRenne led off the first with a single to right, stole second with one out and trotted home ahead of Nady’s blast over the leftfield fence S the national team added a pair of runs in both the second and third innings before the juniors broke through against Dinardo … Tonis led off the second inning with his seventh home run of the summer S an error and run-scoring double by DeRenne put the nationals ahead 4-0 and they added another two runs in the third, set up by Scott’s double to left-center.

USA 13, USA Juniors 5 (Tucson, Aug. 1): Nady extended his home-run streak to six games by smacking his 15th home of the summer S Nady’s latest blast came during the seven-run second inning, putting Houston righthander Kyle Crowell (4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks) S Scott hit his eighth home run of the summer in the first inning, capping a three-run rally, and Hill hit his second homer with Team USA in the second (giving the USA 50 total home runs for the summer) S future national player Travis Wong (bound for Texas A&) showed why he is so highly-regarded, hitting a two-run homer off Arizona righthander Ben Diggins in the sixth (Diggins previously had allowed only one earned run all summer) S Gall had a big night offensively, going 4-for-5 with two triples and three runs scored S Scott and Godwin had three hits apiece in a game shortened to eight innings.