05-15-2008, 06:40 PM
Harrison UC's hitting machine
BY BILL KOCH | BKOCH@ENQUIRER.COM
Hitting below .300 has always been a foreign concept to University of Cincinnati second baseman Josh Harrison.
Ever since he started whacking the ball off a tee when he was three years old, Harrison has been a good hitter. He batted .459 as a senior at Princeton High School, .367 as a freshman at UC and .327 as a sophomore.
So when he found himself hitting .274 this spring almost halfway through his junior year at UC, he began to wonder what was going on.
“He’s been a really good player for us for two years,” said UC baseball coach Brian Cleary. “I said to him, ‘Josh, you don’t have to do more than you’ve done. Just keep doing what you’ve done for two years.’ ”
Harrison thought that’s what he was doing. His approach hadn’t changed and he was still making contact, but the hits weren’t falling.
“I was telling myself when I was hitting .270, ‘Just keep hitting the ball, it’ll start falling.’ ” Harrison said. “Even my teammates told me that. For a while, it wasn’t falling and I’m looking at my teammates, joking, like, ‘Hey, man, you’re all lying to me.’ ”
Then the Bearcats traveled to Louisville for three games on the weekend of April 25 and it seemed like every time Harrison went to the plate he got a hit.
In fact, that’s exactly what happened. He went 10-for-10 in the Louisville series and has been on a tear ever since. In his last 30 games, he has hit .530 (44-78), raising his average to .377, which ranks seventh in the Big East Conference.
“It was that weekend (in Louisville) that turned everything around,” Harrison said. “Before that, I was just starting to heat up. That’s when I really caught fire. I couldn’t tell you how I did it. It’s just one of those things where you look up at the end of the weekend and say, ‘Wow, that’s 10-for-10.’ ”
As the Bearcats began their final three games of the regular season Thursday night against West Virginia at Marge Schott Stadium, Harrison ranked among the league’s top 10 in runs (54), hits (78), runs batted in (47), doubles (18), total bases (115) and stolen bases (26).
“We signed him late and I thought he was going to be a good player,” Cleary said. “But he wasn’t a terribly heavily recruited player. As it turned out, a lot of what we’ve done has centered around him. He has been a central piece of our success over the past couple years and certainly this year.”
At 5-feet-8, 177 pounds, Harrison is not physically imposing. His strengths are his versatility and his knowledge of the game.
“The more you watch him play the more you realize how he understands the game,” Cleary said.
That understanding comes naturally.
“It’s in my blood,” Harrison said.
His uncle, John Shelby, played 11 years in the major leagues and is currently the first base coach for the Baltimore Orioles. His cousin, John Shelby III, plays in the Chicago White Sox minor league system and his brother, Vince, played in the minor leagues for six years after being drafted by Tampa Bay in 2001.
Harrison has a realistic chance to be selected in major league baseball’s June amateur draft, but the draft isn’t foremost on his mind just yet, even though it has been his lifelong dream to play professional baseball.
He wants to finish his UC career on a high note, helping the Bearcats reach their first NCAA Tournament since 1974 by winning the Big East Tournament next week in Clearwater, Fla.
“I’m not really banking on the draft,” Harrison said. “You never know what can happen. When that time comes, I’ll be watching but until then I’m worried about these last three games against West Virginia, going to the Big East Tournament and hopefully getting (an NCAA Tournament) bid.
“If this truly is my last year (at UC), I want to enjoy it as much as possible and make it the most memorable season that I can for myself and for the seniors.”
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../305150083
BY BILL KOCH | BKOCH@ENQUIRER.COM
Hitting below .300 has always been a foreign concept to University of Cincinnati second baseman Josh Harrison.
Ever since he started whacking the ball off a tee when he was three years old, Harrison has been a good hitter. He batted .459 as a senior at Princeton High School, .367 as a freshman at UC and .327 as a sophomore.
So when he found himself hitting .274 this spring almost halfway through his junior year at UC, he began to wonder what was going on.
“He’s been a really good player for us for two years,” said UC baseball coach Brian Cleary. “I said to him, ‘Josh, you don’t have to do more than you’ve done. Just keep doing what you’ve done for two years.’ ”
Harrison thought that’s what he was doing. His approach hadn’t changed and he was still making contact, but the hits weren’t falling.
“I was telling myself when I was hitting .270, ‘Just keep hitting the ball, it’ll start falling.’ ” Harrison said. “Even my teammates told me that. For a while, it wasn’t falling and I’m looking at my teammates, joking, like, ‘Hey, man, you’re all lying to me.’ ”
Then the Bearcats traveled to Louisville for three games on the weekend of April 25 and it seemed like every time Harrison went to the plate he got a hit.
In fact, that’s exactly what happened. He went 10-for-10 in the Louisville series and has been on a tear ever since. In his last 30 games, he has hit .530 (44-78), raising his average to .377, which ranks seventh in the Big East Conference.
“It was that weekend (in Louisville) that turned everything around,” Harrison said. “Before that, I was just starting to heat up. That’s when I really caught fire. I couldn’t tell you how I did it. It’s just one of those things where you look up at the end of the weekend and say, ‘Wow, that’s 10-for-10.’ ”
As the Bearcats began their final three games of the regular season Thursday night against West Virginia at Marge Schott Stadium, Harrison ranked among the league’s top 10 in runs (54), hits (78), runs batted in (47), doubles (18), total bases (115) and stolen bases (26).
“We signed him late and I thought he was going to be a good player,” Cleary said. “But he wasn’t a terribly heavily recruited player. As it turned out, a lot of what we’ve done has centered around him. He has been a central piece of our success over the past couple years and certainly this year.”
At 5-feet-8, 177 pounds, Harrison is not physically imposing. His strengths are his versatility and his knowledge of the game.
“The more you watch him play the more you realize how he understands the game,” Cleary said.
That understanding comes naturally.
“It’s in my blood,” Harrison said.
His uncle, John Shelby, played 11 years in the major leagues and is currently the first base coach for the Baltimore Orioles. His cousin, John Shelby III, plays in the Chicago White Sox minor league system and his brother, Vince, played in the minor leagues for six years after being drafted by Tampa Bay in 2001.
Harrison has a realistic chance to be selected in major league baseball’s June amateur draft, but the draft isn’t foremost on his mind just yet, even though it has been his lifelong dream to play professional baseball.
He wants to finish his UC career on a high note, helping the Bearcats reach their first NCAA Tournament since 1974 by winning the Big East Tournament next week in Clearwater, Fla.
“I’m not really banking on the draft,” Harrison said. “You never know what can happen. When that time comes, I’ll be watching but until then I’m worried about these last three games against West Virginia, going to the Big East Tournament and hopefully getting (an NCAA Tournament) bid.
“If this truly is my last year (at UC), I want to enjoy it as much as possible and make it the most memorable season that I can for myself and for the seniors.”
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../305150083