European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 11, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May stars and stripes Mideast edition Page 25 Honor Hill willing to serve in any capacity from Back Page says Ray it was a very special time for Nick has been so supportive to Stephen and so willing to appreciate his achieve for a College kid to come along and recognize that Hes standing on the shoulders of oth ers riot just our son tells you a lot about How he was Ray Reich pauses and composes were very touched and very proud that army has continued with the remembrances of the number 20 has a major presence in the world of army walk into the team room and the first image is a framed painting of in in the locker the number takes up most of the Wall leading to the a placard with coach Joe Pottol Anos motivational sayings has the number in the he made the ultimate Sacri fice for his Hill Steves presence is always with us and so Are All the players and soldiers who have Steve of graduated from West Point in he won 19 games in his baseball struck out a record 17 batters in his last game and could have easily transferred to a top 25 baseball school after two years at the with a pro and maybe a handsome awaiting Reich stayed at West virtually ending any viable shot at the big leagues he pitched briefly in the orioles system in he wanted to Honor his com and test himself against the unrelenting Rigours of military those who knew nun Best speak of a movie Star and his common Man when you have such a sure thing As this it just Doest make sense to throw it All away for something that a Long Reich said at the in the Spring of a helicopter said goodbye to his new and headed to Afghanistan for his fourth tour of All of them he was commanding a special operations a task that demanded even with family Mem when one of his Sisters asked about what he was he in in a place with a lot of carrying on a tradition a look at the career statistics of two army left handers each of whom wore the 20 for team were left handed and came from Small towns rank in school history in parentheses through wednesdays game retch Hill we rank for wins t5 3212 1 Era 3 319 1 is 2 323 1 Era 30 source on june Reich was Fly ing a mh47 Chinook into an area teeming with Al Aida the Mission was to Rescue a team of Navy the enemy launched a rocket propelled Gre Reichs helicopter was army accounts say that he Man aged to get the helicopter Down to a Cliff near the Pakistan the Cliff gave All 16 service members on Board two Days a uniformed army major knocked on the door of the Reich and the Secretary of the army regrets to inform you that your son Stephen Reich was change in plans Nick Hills original As a senior at Sullivan East High in Bluff was to accept a scholar ship to East Tennessee he set a Tennessee record by throw ing 56 straight scoreless and signed a letter of then he found out he was admitted to West and everything some of the Best people in the world Are Hill i wanted to serve my if Ever a kid was Cut from acad Emy it is he had All As and a single b in High and pushed himself just As hard in when Hill threw a Ball Over the roof of the family Home at age 4 it was a ranch but father Lee Hill says it was Clear the kid had an he turned out to be a Workaholic be fore he even got out of elementary spending hours throw ing into a Cage in the family base it was no different when he got to High school and West his work ethic is Why Hes got ten where he says Stacey cart his High school Joe Sottolano has seen Hills drive from the time he was a perfecting his sirs Courtesty of military Academy former army Pitcher Steve Reich was killed when his helicopter was shot Down Over the mountains on the Afghanistan Pakistan Border in and Hills biggest prob Lem May be the demands he places on his propensity for his refusal to be sat says Sottolano anyone who knows Nick knows he is a Perfec every every every time he does everything he analyses it and expects it to be Hes the Type of kid who will strike a hitter out and be ticked off because it want exactly where he wanted Hill has a slightly slum Shoul dered and a prematurely balding if you had 500 Guys in the room and had to pick out the Lethander who throws in the hed be the 499th Guy youd Sottolano the coach has Long since Learned not to underestimate a two time Hill won 20 games his first two posting a Era As a Sopho his numbers we rent As Good last but he still held hit ters to a and draws packs of scouts to every game Doubleday Field was saturated with them Hill used to hit 91 or 92 Mph on the radar gun and though one scout expresses a bit of concern that Hes been Topping out at 88 Mph More the consensus is that it is More a function of cold weather and the physical de mands of West Point life than any thing to do with his Hill finished the regular season this year 63 with a Era with 87 strikeouts in 76 Hes got great command of three poise and Hes a Heck of a says Navy coach Paul i dont know what else you need to be an outstanding says one no scout Hes a kid with Good movement on his fast and a major league change right Ive seen games where he Coul Dve told Guys it was coming and they still  hit with Hills feel for pitching and Servic Academy intangibles competitiveness and resilience the scout is certain hell be drafted inside of 10 preserving the memory Nick for his int concerned about where Hes chosen in the or interested in talk ing about he takes pains not to be no his father Hills favorite game is any game that army his Best memories Are when All nine Guys Are competing pulling to you cant win by there Are eight Guys behind Hill Hill helped army push into the Patriot league playoffs As the 2 the knights face Navy on saturday in in the elimination game of the leagues postseason maybe More than Nick Hill wants to keep alive the memory of Steve his big brother in making left handed pitches that somehow move at the intersection of beginning and of life and death pitches that dont just get people but that pay tribute to a Good Man he never ill be Able to do Nick Hill Nick Hill has a gifted left and possibly even better if the army had come along in any other his aspirations to play pro Ball would have Likely unravelled like a bad done in by West Points postgraduate military service but under a new program called the alternative service option Aso instituted two years ago by the department of the army Hill would be eligible to Start playing pro Ball As soon As he assuming he gets approval for he would be stationed wherever Hes assigned to play and serve As a reservist and a Recruiter for 10 work ing Between 3040 Days a he would also be responsible for repaying a prorated share of his fou year scholarship to West some hardliners have As sailed the but Bryan an army person Nel says the critics need to see the big its not a  Hilferty you Are still serving your youre just doing it in a different it allows soldiers to leave Active duty to pursue activities that Are of Benefit and recruiting value to the says if that the role the army wants me to serve As a id be More than Happy to take it new and improved flood and Iii Litiuz Titars available mounts on and designed Foll All military vehicles connects directly to electrical system or Battery gs07f5505r Hist Elk Light up 111 nigh1 m 1 wow i of Lac i Ion 11 i i i Road in 111 a k002 Tihoni i a 60 i 0