BEL AIR, MD. – Joe Harbach (Abingdon, Md./Edgewood) has been named a First-Team All-American by the NJCAA, the first ever Harford Fighting Owl baseball player to achieve that status.

A 6-foot-3, 185 lb. sophomore left-hander, Harbach made the team as an outfielder, but was also a top pitcher.  At the plate, he batted a school record .514 for the season with team-leading 19 doubles, 3 triples, 10 home runs, 60 RBIs and 64 runs scored while posting an .832 slugging percentage.  He also stole 38 bases in 40 attempts and struck out just 12 times in 205 plate appearances.  His batting average ranked as the seventh highest in the nation among all NJCAA and NCAA players this year.

On the mound, he posted a 4-3 record with a team-best 3.64 ERA.  He struck out 56 and walked just 14 in 54.1 innings pitched.

Harbach helped lead the Fighting Owls to a school best 33-16 record and the NJCAA Regional Quarterfinals in 2010.  He earned First-Team All-Conference and All-Region honors both this year and as a freshman in the 2009 season.  During the final week of March this year, he earned NJCAA National Player of the Week laurels when he went 16-for-20 at the plate over a six-game stretch.  That came in the midst of a personal 18-game hitting streak and a team record 19-game winning streak.

He is the third Harford athlete to earn First Team All-America honors during the 2009-10 academic year, joining Melissa Warczynski (women's lacrosse) and Beth Lambros (women's soccer).

~ Fighting Owls ~