Nicholas Hill (born January 30, 1985 in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Army career

Hill was a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. As an Army reserve there was still a possibility that Hill could have been sent overseas to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

while he was playing in the Mariners farm system. He was involved in an Army program that allowed athletes to apply for an early discharge after two years of active duty after they signed their contracts. His active duty requirement expired in the 2009 season.

Amateur career

High school

Hill graduated from

Sullivan East High School Sullivan East High School is a 9th–12th grade public high school located in Bluff City, Tennessee, United States. History The school opened after the consolidation of Bluff City High School, Mary Hughes High School, and Holston Valley High ...

in June 2003 where he was a three-time letterwinner and was named region player of the year and all-state selection as a senior. Hill established Tennessee state record by pitching 56 consecutive

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

College

In May 2007 Hill graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

where he was named

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...

Pitcher of the Year three times and earned First-Team All-Patriot League accolades four times. Hill was named to second team All-America squads by the American Baseball Coaches' Association and Collegiate Baseball in 2005. He was named to the

Brooks Wallace Award The Brooks Wallace Award is an award given by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) to the best college baseball shortstop of the year. The award has been given annually since 2004. Until 2008 the award was presented to the nation's most outstandi ...

Watch List in 2006 and 2007. Hill was also on the '07

Roger Clemens Award The Roger Clemens Award was an award that honored the top NCAA Division I college baseball pitcher of the year. The award was created prior to the 2004 season and succeeded the Rotary Smith Award. :''"Roger Clemens has become synonymous with exce ...

Watch List and the '06 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America First Team. He was selected to '06

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Preseason All-American Second Team and the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...

in the same year, becoming the first Army player since

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

to play for Team USA. He was drafted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in the 47th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, but could not sign due to military obligations. During his time in college he played on the

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Hill was the Seattle Mariners' seventh round selection in the

2007 Major League Baseball draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the f ...

; signed by Mariners scout Robert Mummau. In his professional debut with the Short-Season

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seating capacity o ...

he went 1–3 with a 0.51 ERA with two saves in 18 games in 2007. He began the 2008 season with the Class-A

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight ...

where he went 2–1 with one save and a 4.30 ERA in 25 relief appearances and 0–6 with a 4.65 ERA in 10 starts. He tossed a season-high innings on June 2, while striking out a season-high seven batters in five innings on May 7. Hill appeared in nine games with the Double-A West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx from June 23 to July 12. In 2009 Hill spent the entire season with the Diamond Jaxx going 5–6 with a 3.10 ERA, 100 strikeouts, innings pitched in 36 games, nine starts. He and other Mariners' prospects were sent to the Arizona Fall League at the end of the season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Nick 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from New York (state) United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni Everett AquaSox players High Desert Mavericks players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Tacoma Rainiers players Peoria Javelinas players Arizona League Mariners players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Reading Fightin Phils players Bridgeport Bluefish players Saint Joseph's Hawks baseball coaches Army Black Knights baseball players