June 7, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After a spectacular senior campaign as the top Irish pitcher out of the bullpen, senior RHP Donnie Hissa was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 21st round (626th pick). The Iron River, Wis., native grew up six hours away from Milwaukee.
The Brewers have now picked an Irish player in two consecutive drafts as senior co-captain and outfielder Charlie Markson went in the 38th round last year.
“My family and I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity and I’m so honored to have been selected by the Milwaukee Brewers, my home state team,” said Hissa. “Hard work really does pay off and I can’t wait to continue my career at the next level. I feel incredibly blessed and am so thankful for the support of my family, friends and the entire Notre Dame community.”
Hissa showed improvement every year he was with the Irish, as he lowered his season ERA from 11.57 as a freshman to 5.27 as a sophomore to 5.22 as a junior and finally to 2.66 as a senior.
The righty had his best season during his final campaign as he showed the ability to be a long reliever, closer or a 1-2 inning guy in a team-high 31 appearances (T-5th in ACC as of June 3). He went 2-4 and picked up a team-high five saves. Hissa participated in three shutouts and was sixth on the Irish with 50.2 innings of work. With a fastball that can touch the mid-90’s, Hissa struck out 48 and held hitters to a .227 average.
After pitching a career-high 4.1 innings in a 4-3 win over Appalachian State March 2, Hissa eventually switched to the role of closer as the season went on. He picked up his first save of the season in a pressure-packed situation at then-No. 11 Miami April 20 before racking up four more over the season’s final month.
Hissa’s best weekend of his career might have come in his last appearance at Frank Eck Stadium as he tallied two saves and a win as the Irish swept Atlantic Coast Conference foe Pitt to close out the season in fine fashion.
With Hissa off the board, the 2014 Irish continued an impressive streak as the program has had two or more players selected for the MLB Draft every year since 1988. The Baltimore Orioles selected Junior RHP Pat Connaughton in the fourth round Friday afternoon.
Irish Players Drafted Under Head Coach Mik Aoki
2010
Brian Dupra, RHP, Jr. (Detroit Tigers, 11th Round)
Evan Danieli, RHP, Jr. (Atlanta Braves, 24th Round)
Steven Mazur, RHP, Sr. (Baltimore Orioles, 33rd Round)
Will Harford, C, Sr. (Cincinnati Reds, 45th Round)
Golden Tate, OF, Sr. (San Francisco Giants, 50th Round)
2011
Brian Dupra, RHP, Sr. (Washington Nationals, 7th Round)
Cole Johnson, RHP, Sr. (Minnesota Twins, 44th Round)
Matt Scioscia, C, Sr. (Anaheim Angels, 45th Round)
2012
Joe Hudson, C, Sr. (Cincinnati Reds, 6th Round)
Will Hudgins, RHP, Sr. (Washington Nationals, 22nd Round)
Steve Sabatino, LHP, Sr. (St. Louis Cardinals, 26th Round)
2013
Eric Jagielo, 3B, Jr. (New York Yankees, 1st Round)
Dan Slania, RHP, Jr. (San Francisco Giants, 5th Round)
Trey Mancini, 1B, Jr. (Baltimore Orioles, 8th Round)
Charlie Markson, OF, Sr. (Milwaukee Brewers, 38th Round)
2014
Pat Connaughton, RHP, Jr. (Baltimore Orioles, 4th Round)
Donnie Hissa, RHP, Sr. (Milwaukee Brewers, 21st Round)
–Russell Dorn, Assistant Media Relations Director
–ND–