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Softball By Joshua Peacock

This is Tiger Nation: The Hallman Sisters

Editor's Note: This story is part of an on-going series that examines the life of Savannah State student-athletes, past and present, and their contributions on and off the field of play. This is a product of the Savannah State Athletics Media Relations Department.
 
What are the ingredients that make a good student-athlete: pedigree, drive, ambition, an honorable disposition?
 
Savannah State's Hallman sisters encompass all of these, and are shining examples of their generation.
 
In 2012, Amber Hallman joined the Lady Tigers' softball team and immediately earned a starting role at third base.

It would prove to be a good move by head coach Jose Gonzalez, as Amber would go on to help the Lady Tigers win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Southern Division Title in their first year of competition in the conference. She would also earn the MEAC Rookie of the Year award.
 
Amber led SSU in batting (.397), slugging percentage (.583), runs scored (37), hits (60), RBI (33 – 3rd in MEAC), home runs (7), and total bases (88 – 3rd in the MEAC), in her debut season. She also won two MEAC Rookie of the Week awards during the season.

6392In 2014, little sister Amanda joined the team and for the second time in their life the sisters would wear the same uniform.
 
During Amber's freshman year at Savannah State, fans and teammates wondered over her choice of jersey number, the unusual number 70, and her choice of walk-up song, an old school jam.
 
She had chosen both on purpose. The typical football lineman number was Harold Hallman's jersey number during his time in the Canadian Football League, Amber and Amanda's father.
 
Mr. Hallman was a three-year letter winner at Auburn University, playing beside the incomparable Bo Jackson as a defensive end. He was a 1985 First-Team All-SEC selection and a 10th round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1986 NFL Draft.

6609 Mr. Hallman moved to the CFL and was named the league's Rookie of the Year with a team record 19 sacks in 1986. He played for the Calgary Stampeders from 1986-1987 and then for the Toronto Argonauts as a defensive tackle from 1988-1993.
 
In December of 2005, Mr. Hallman passed away at the age of 43. Amber recalled Bo Jackson and several former teammates from both Auburn and the CFL paying tribute to her father at his memorial service. She was 12 years old and Amanda was 10.
 
When Amber began playing softball at the age of seven, she took her father's professional number in his honor. After his passing and into her college career, the number has carried more weight.
 
"Once I tell them (teammates), they're like, ahh that's cool," Amber said. "My walkup song is a song him and I used to listen to on the way to softball games and tournaments. People are like 'why do you have that old school song?' And then I tell them the story and they say, 'that's pretty awesome.'"
 
Family is important to the sisters. Originally, Amber was recruited to run track & field at Eastern Michigan, an estimated nine hour trip from their home in Kennesaw, Georgia.
 
"At the last minute, my mom was showing concern that Michigan was too far away," Amber said. "And if I needed something I couldn't just come home or she couldn't come see me. Savannah State was a better idea, because it was closer to home, and I would be playing softball, which comes to me more naturally than track and field."
 
Amber and Amanda played together in high school for two years. Although Amanda followed her big sister into the sport, she hasn't lived in her shadow.
 
Amanda played an important role in her freshman debut for the Lady Tigers. Typically an outfielder, SSU was in need of a second pitcher, and once put into the role, Amanda responded.
 
She toed the rubber in 141.1 innings for the Lady Tigers, finishing with an 11-13 pitching record and a .326 batting average at the plate.

6604"I enjoyed pitching, but it was kind of stressful," Amanda said. "I was mostly an outfielder in high school. I pitched maybe five games. Hopefully, I will do better next year, since I'll be more comfortable."

Separated by only a few feet between third and the pitching circle, the sisters are blessed with a unique support system that not a lot of collegiate student-athletes have.   
 
"Last year was a good experience," Amber said. "It got us used to having someone there. You always have a cheerleader there, but you also have a critic that's going to tell you everything you're doing wrong. If you don't want to hear it, you're going to get told it. That's a good thing."
 
Amanda is a majoring in Behavioral Analysis at Savannah State and has aspirations of working for the FBI. Amber will finish up her degree in Behavioral Analysis this year.
 
Amber is planning on a joining the military once she graduates, and hopes to pursue work in adult or child psychology.
 
For the coming 2015 softball season, it will be the final year the sisters will play on the same softball team, but it's very likely that it will not be the last year they root for each other.





 
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**Still photos of Amber and Amanda by Adriana Iris Boatwright
**Actions photos of Amber and Amanda by Richard Burkhart
**Photo of Harold at Auburn courtesy of Auburn University Media Relations Department
**Playing card photo of Harold courtesy of the Canadian Football League.
**Information on Harold Hallman courtesy of Auburn University Media Relations Department




 
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Players Mentioned

Amber Hallman

#70 Amber Hallman

3B
5' 6"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Amber Hallman

#70 Amber Hallman

5' 6"
Junior
3B