This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Harrison's Eklund Signs To Play For The Spartans

Harrison High School's big game pitcher Zach Eklund has signed with Saint Thomas Aquinas to pitch for next year.

Zach Eklund's high school career ended as he walked off the mound at Dutchess Stadium to a standing ovation from the Harrison faithful. At that time it was unclear as to whether or not Eklund would ever pitch again due to the NCAA's eligibility rules.

But Eklund's pitching days are still in front of him. Early last month Eklund signed a letter of intent to play for Saint Thomas Aquinas College. Signing with the Spartans makes Eklund the only member of Harrison's 2010 baseball team who will be playing recognized college baseball.

In his senior season, Eklund finished 4-4 in a very tough league. He proved to be a workhorse for the Huskies and would throw close to 100 pitches routinely. In a playoff game against the hated Rye Garnets, Eklund threw 145 pitches.

Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In his final season at Harrison, Eklund had a 3.55 earned run average, with a batting average against of .239 over 51 innings.

Eklund credits one of his high school teachers for introducing him to the college.

Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I first heard about the school from my teacher Mrs. (Diane) Frawley, her son is a pitcher with the team and he enjoys both the school and the athletic program," Eklund said. "I went to the school for an open house and spoke to the coaches, and then Coach Garvey came to see me pitch against Port Chester."

In the game against the Port Chester Rams, Eklund pitched a complete game and only gave up two runs on four hits. He also struck out seven and only threw eighty three pitches.

Assistant Coach Jonathan Garvey is in his first year at Saint Thomas Aquinas and he is also in charge of recruiting for the team. Coach Garvey is very excited about bringing in Eklund.

"Zach is a big, strong kid," said Coach Garvey. "Next year we are looking at him to pitch late relief and we hope that he will eventually work his way into the starting rotation."

Eklund knows he will have to work hard on the baseball field and in the classroom if he wants to continue to play college baseball and contribute with the Spartans next season.

"I have heard a lot about the social life in college," said Eklund. "But with school and baseball I will have to put things like that in the backseat for a little while until I get myself acclimated to college life. I know if I work my butt off on the field they will reward me with playing time."

Next year Coach Garvey envisions seeing Eklund working hard year round.

"We are going to put him on a strict weight program and start working on his mechanics as soon as he gets to school," said Garvey. "We have a short fall season and then our regular season starts in February, we expect Zach to have the confidence and stamina to pitch important innings for us immediately."

Eklund leaves behind a great athletic legacy at Harrison High School. He was the baseball team's ace this year and he has been an important part to the varsity basketball team over the last three years. If Eklund can continue to work hard and build towards a solid career, there is no doubt that he will be a very successful college pitcher.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?