#5 David Mills 2008-09 Baseball Roster

AT NOTRE DAME: Two-year monogram winner enters his junior season with a .335 career batting average, three home runs and 54 RBI … has added 57 runs, eight doubles, nine triples, 35 walks, eight sacrifice flies, 27 sacrifice bunts and 16 stolen bases (20 attempts) in 90 games (83 starts) … also enters senior season with a 5.40 career ERA and 3-1 record, plus 25 strikeouts, 10 walks and 51 hits allowed (.325 opponent batting average) in 33 appearances (no starts) and 38.1 innings (two hit batters, no wild pitches, five home runs allowed) … averaging 5.87 strikeouts and 2.35 walks per 9.0 innings pitched in his career … ranks eighth in Notre Dame career history for sacrifice bunts, tied for eighth in total sacrifices and tied for 17th in triples … speedy two-way player, as corner outfielder and left-handed relief specialist … solid left-handed hitter, with quick stroke to all fields … line-drive hitter that proved he can drive the ball from gap-to-gap … on the mound, has good deception while attacking the zone with solid slider, tough breaking ball and low-to-mid 80s, two-seam fast ball.

JUNIOR SEASON (2009): Appeared in 44 games and started 41 for the Irish, primarily in right field (33 starts) … also made eight starts as the designated hitter … batted .325 (49-for-151) with one home run and 28 RBI … added 29 runs scored, six doubles, three triples, 24 walks, four sacrifice flies, eight sacrifice bunts and seven stolen bases (11 attempts) … did ground into two double plays in 151 at bats … recorded 64 total bases, posted a .424 slugging percentage and .408 on-base percentage … batted .333 (13-for-39) against left-handed pitching and .321 (36-for-112) against right-handed pitching … batted .364 (28-for-77) with the bases empty … batted .571 (4-for-7) with the bases loaded … reached base at a .444 (16-for-36) clip when leading off an inning … hit .333 (16-for-48) with runners in scoring position … was 10-for-14 in RBI opportunities with a runner on third base and less than two outs … batted .310 (13-for-42) with two outs … totaled 14 two-out RBI (fourth highest) … ranked among the top five on the squad in sacrifice bunts (first), sacrifice flies (t-second), stolen bases (third), on-base percentage (third), slugging percentage (fourth), triples (fourth), walks (fourth), batting (fifth) and RBI (fifth) … hit .296 (21-for-71) with one home run and nine RBI in 20 BIG EAST games (19 starts) … added 11 runs scored, one double, two triples, seven walks, one sacrifice fly, six sacrifice bunts and two stolen bases (three attempts) … recorded 29 total bases, posted a .408 slugging percentage and .354 on-base percentage … batted .310 (18-for-58) against right-handed pitching … batted .395 (15-for-38) with the bases empty … reached base at a .462 (6-for-13) clip when leading off an inning … was 3-for-3 in RBI opportunities with a runner on third base and less than two outs … totaled five two-out RBI (seventh highest) … ranked among the top five on the squad in sacrifice bunts (first), stolen bases (t-third), batting (fifth), slugging (fifth), on-base percentage (fifth) and walks (t-fifth) … his six sacrifice bunts ranked tied for fourth in league games … registered 14 multi-hit games (sixth), including a pair of three-hit games (March 20 vs. Seton Hall; March 24 vs. Central Michigan) … recorded six multi-RBI games (fifth), including a pair of three-RBI games (March 15 vs. UTPA-1; May 22 vs. St. John[apos]s) … Notre Dame went 25-16 when Mills started, including 24-9 when he started in right field and 1-7 when he served as the designated hitter … batted .318 (47-for-148) with one home run and 27 RBI in games started … went 2-for-3 with a triple, RBI and run scored as a pinch hitter … recorded back-to-back multi-hit games against Illinois on Feb. 21 (2-for-5 with a run scored and RBI) and Gonzaga on Feb. 27 (went 2-for-5 with a run scored and RBI) … drew three walks and scored two runs against NCAA tournament participant Washington State on March 8 … registered a stolen base in three consecutive games against Grambling (March 10-11) and Illinois State (March 12) … went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, two stolen bases and three walks in the two-game series against Grambling … drew three more walks, scored two runs and went 1-for-2 against Trinity on March 14 … posted consecutive multi-hit games in the doubleheader sweep of UTPA on March 15 (went 4-for-9 with a run scored, double and five RBI) … made it four multi-hit games over a five-game stretch with multi-hit outings against Valparaiso on March 18 (2-for-4 with a walk, RBI and two runs scored) and Seton Hall on March 20 (3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored) … made it six multi-hit games in eight contests following multi-hit games against Seton Hall on March 22 (2-for-4 with a walk and run scored) and Central Michigan on March 24 (3-for-4 with a walk, stolen base, RBI and three runs scored) … capped off a nine-game hitting streak that spanned March 14-March 24 and included six multi-hit games … hit .486 (17-for-35) in the hitting streak … followed with a seven-game hitting streak that spanned March 27-April 4 and included a trio of multi-hit games … batted .435 (10-for-23) in the hitting streak … recorded a hit in 16 of 17 games and 18 of 20 from March 10-April 4 … recorded multi-hit games against Michigan-1 on April 22, UIC on April 28 and USF on May 8 … added a two-run double and sacrifice fly in thrilling come-from-behind victory over St. John[apos]s on May 22 (Irish rallied for a 9-0 and 10-1 deficit for an 11-10 victory) … made 15 appearances on the mound in the spring, all out of the bullpen … his 15 appearances were tied for fourth-most by any Irish pitcher … his 15 relief outings were fourth-most on the staff … went 2-1 with one save and a 4.55 earned run average in 27.2 innings of work … allowed 32 hits as his opponents batted .296 against him … struck out 18 and only walked four … did not allow an earned run in seven of 15 appearances … averaged 5.86 strikeouts and 1.30 walks per nine innings … Notre Dame posted an 8-7 record when Mills pitched … went 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in six appearances (no starts) in BIG EAST action … allowed 20 hits in 12.0 innings of work as his opponents batted .370 against him … struck out seven and walked two … made season debut against Purdue on Feb. 22 and did not allow an earned run on two hits in 1.1 innings of work (struck out one and walked one) … tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of relief on Feb. 28 against Dayton (yielded a hit and recorded a strikeout) … made three consecutive scoreless relief outings against NCAA tournament participant Washington State on March 8 (0.1 hitless inning), Trinity on March 14 (picked up the victory with 2.0 innings; struck out two and walked one) and Valparaiso on March 18 (0.2 hitless inning) … extended streak to 6.0 innings to open the season without an earned run allowed … following a tough relief appearance against Seton Hall on March 22 (one earned run on three hits in 2.2 innings of work; two strikeouts and one walk), tossed back-to-back scoreless appearances against Cincinnati on April 9 (struck out the only batter he faced) and Northwestern on April 15 (surrendered one hit in 2.0 innings of work; fanned one) … suffered worst appearance of the season against Louisville on April 26 (knocked around for five earned runs on five hits in 2.1 innings of work) … allowed at least one earned run in each of his next three relief appearances against UConn on May 2 (one earned run on three hits in 3.0 innings), USF on May 10 (one earned run on two hits in 0.2 innings of work; also charged with the loss) and Illinois State on May 12 (two earned runs on two hits in 3.0 innings of work, but did register four strikeouts) … worked 3.0 innings in each of his next two outings against St. John[apos]s on May 15 (two earned runs on seven hits and two strikeouts) and Louisville on May 20 (one earned run on three hits) … allowed one earned run on two hits in 1.2 innings of work in final relief outing of season against Louisville on May 23 (fanned a pair) … started all three games, two in left field and the other at designated hitter … batted .300 (3-for-10) with a run scored, RBI and walk … did not play during the summer of 2008.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2008): Played for Northwoods League[apos]s Battle Creek (Mich.) Bombers in summer of 2007 … helped Gold win the 2007 Blue-Gold World Series, batting .500 (3-for-6) with three runs scored, two walks and a stolen base … also made two relief stints (2.1 IP, R, 4 H, BB, WP) … his shutout inning of relief set up Kyle Weiland[apos]s save in clinching game-3 (7-5) … appeared in 43 games, including 42 starts … named first team all-BIG EAST as designated hitter … earned BIG EAST Player of the Week on Apr. 21 … batted .349 (58-for-166) with two home runs and 26 RBI … added 28 runs scored, two doubles, six triples, 10 walks, 19 sacrifice bunts, four sacrifice flies and nine stolen bases (perfect 9-for-9) … led the team in triples, sacrifice bunts, total sacrifices and stolen base percentage … ranked second in hitting, second in stolen bases, third in slugging (.470), third in sacrifice flies, fifth in runs scored, fifth in hits and fifth in total bases (78) … led the BIG EAST in sacrifice bunts and total sacrifices … also ranked tied for third in triples and 16th in batting average … ranked second in sacrifice bunts per game (0.40), sixth in total sacrifice bunts, 21st in the NCAA in triples per game (0.13) and 29th in total triples … situationally, he led the team in batting versus right-handed pitchers (.393), batting with the bases empty (.385) and success with advancing runners (.605) … ranked second on the team in batting with runners in scoring position (.383), fourth in reaching base when leading off (.433), fifth in batting with runners on-base (.318), fifth in batting average with a runner on third base and less than two outs (.667), fifth with 12 two-out RBI and sixth in batting with two-out (.333) … did not commit an error in nine fielding chances … ranked second on the team with 18 multi-hit games and seventh on the club with seven multi-RBI games … had 11 two-hit games and seven three-hit games … had six games with two RBI and one game with four RBI … made 37 starts at designated hitter, three in right field and two in center field … hit in the #2 spot of the lineup in all 42 starts … hit .407 in BIG EAST regular-season games (46-for-113, 19 R, 21 RBI, 2 HR, 2 2B, 3 3B, 4 BB, 10 Ks, 12 SAC, 5 SB) … led the BIG EAST in conference games only in sacrifice bunts … also ranked third in BIG EAST games only in batting average, third in hits, third in triples, seventh in at-bats, 10th in total bases and 11th in plate appearances … recorded a career-best 13-game hitting streak that included back-to-back three hit games against Villanova on Apr. 11 and 12 … after that 13-game hitting streak ended on Apr. 15, would register a 10-game hitting streak before going hitless on Apr. 29 … went 2-for-2 with a walk, triple, sacrifice fly, two runs scored and two RBI in first career start against Buffalo on Mar. 14 … went 2-for-4 with a run scored and RBI at Georgetown on Mar. 20 … closed the series with the Hoyas with another multi-hit game (went 2-for-5 with a double and run scored) … proceeded to extend hitting streak to a career-best 13 games (Mar. 22 through Apr. 13) … recorded six multi-hit games during the streak … batted .440 (22-for-50) with a double, triple, six RBI and nine runs scored over the 13 games … closely followed 13-game streak with a nine-game hitting streak from Apr. 16 through Apr. 27 … the streak included four two-hit games, including a remarkable series at West Virginia (Apr. 18-20) … he batted .385 (5-for-13) with two home runs (one inside-the-park), a triple, double, four runs scored and seven RBI … he put a stamp on his series and helped clinch the game-three victory with his first career grand slam on Apr. 20 … also struck out the only two batters he faced from the mound … registered a five-game hitting streak from Apr. 30 through May 9 … recorded hits in 26 of the 29 games from Mar. 22 through May 9 … hit an incredible .404 with two doubles, two home runs, five triples, 20 RBI and 21 runs scored … batting average stood at .389 on May 9 … recorded at least one hit in 33 of the 42 games he played … made 11 appearances on the mound in the spring, all out of the Irish bullpen … went 1-0 with a 6.23 ERA in 4.1 innings of work … his 11 relief appearances were the fourth-most among the bullpen … allowed nine hits in 4.1 innings as his opponents batted .450 against him … struck out five and walked two … proved even tougher against left-handed hitters as they managed just a .273 batting average (3-for-11) … averaged 10.38 strikeouts per nine innings … posted an impressive 2.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio … made scoreless relief appearances against Albany (Feb. 24), Maine (Mar. 4), Lehigh (Mar. 6), Rutgers (Apr. 4), Valparaiso (Apr. 8), West Virginia (Apr. 20), St. John[apos]s (Apr. 27), Connecticut (May 4) and Pittsburgh (May 9) … only gave up runs in nine of his 11 appearances.

FRESHMAN SEASON (2007): Was the Blue[apos]s top hitter in the 2006 Blue-Gold World Series (3-for-8, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB, 3 Ks, 2 Es) … made seven relief appearances (8.53 ERA, 6.1 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 2 Ks) while playing four games as position player (0-for-2, BB, K) … logged single innings in wins over N.Y. Tech (12- 1, at Florida Gulf Coast), Western Michigan (R, H, K; 17-9), IPFW (2 H; 3-2) and Ball State (H; 7-3) … played in early game with Texas State (0-for-1, K; 1- 2) and drew walk in 14-3 win over Duquesne.

PREP & PERSONAL: All-state outfielder and pitcher as senior captain and team MVP with Lakeview HS state champs (winning pitcher in final game) … set team records in `06 for hits (51), runs (51), strikeouts thrown (103) and ERA (0.49), also setting record for career wins (28-3) … all-state season in `06 included .408 batting (39 RBI, 7 HR, 7 3B, 10 2B, 26 SB), plus 10-0 record, and school-record 74 IP (34 H, 11 B) … all-conference and all-city in final three seasons (conference champs each year; `06 regional champs) … played in `06 state all-star game … all-state and team MVP as junior (0.74) … hit .369 in `05 (4 HR, 25 RBI; 8-1, 74 Ks, 11 BB) … hit four home runs in one day (`05 travel season) … all-conference, all-city and all-district as a sophomore (honors he repeated in `05), batting .392 in that `04 season (3 HR, 29 RBI) with 1.75 ERA (8-2, 49 Ks, 15 BB) … hit .472 (39 RBI) with 1.98 ERA and 8-0 record as a freshman … played for Kalamazoo Maroons `06 travel team … threw no-hitter in summer of `04 (0.99, 8-1; .388, 3 HR) with Steele[apos]s travel team that won `04 USSSA U-16 World Series – where he was offensive MVP (.470, 11 R, 5 RBI, HR, 3B, 3 2B, 4 SB), with game-winning home run and win in final game … picked up win in district title game … played on `03 summer team that won bronze at USSSA World Series and Triple Crown Regional World Series … hit .410 with 36 RBI on Mid-Michigan Tigers … won ‘fastest man’ awards (top times of 6.4) at Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres regional tryouts and Michigan Showcase … member of National Honor Society … plays trumpet, piano and composes music … plans to pursue career in sports optometry … his great-uncle, Doug Bobo, played football at Michigan State and was drafted by Detroit Lions … his brother, Aaron, is CBS TV sports anchor … born Dec. 16, 1987, in Battle Creek, Mich. … son of Curt and Mary Mills … full name is David Christopher Mills … science pre-professional major, in College of Science.

Mills[apos] Career Statistics

200811/0/04.193 325000.45001-00 6.23

200915/0/027.2321614418021.29632-114.55Totals33/0/038.15125231025021.32553-115.40

Mills in the BIG EAST Conference