Quate, Harrow earn honors
From staff reports

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Third baseman Isaac Harrow and relief pitcher Zach Quate represent Appalachian State on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Rawlings all-Atlantic Region second team, the ABCA announced last week.

The all-region teams were selected by coaches from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Quate turned in the best season by a closer in Appa-lachian history in 2009, going 3-1 with 11 saves and a 1.09 earned run average in 31 appearances. In 41 1/3 innings of work, the right-handed senior allowed only five earned runs on 24 hits (.171 opp. BA) while striking out 55 and walking only 14.

His 11 saves ranked 21st nationally and obliterated the ASU single-season record of eight. He was a perfect 11-for-11 in save opportunities and surrendered earned runs in only three of his 31 appearances.

Aside from an uncharacteristic outing at UNC Greensboro on May 10 when he allowed three runs in a 9-8 extra-inning victory, Quate sported a minuscule 0.47 ERA in his 30 other outings on the mound.

Quate was especially dominant in April, going 1-0 with eight saves in 13 appearances. He struck out 24 and allowed only eight hits in 16 innings of work, en route to being named the SoCon’s Pitcher of the Month.

He turned in perhaps his best performance of the season when he struck out the side on 10 pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning to nail down a 4-1 win over The Citadel in the opening game of the Southern Conference Tournament.

Harrow put together one of the best offensive campaigns in Appalachian history in 2009, setting school records with 75 RBI, 163 total bases and six triples. He ranked among the nation’s top 35 in nine different statistical categories, including batting average (.422 — 19th), hits (92 — 23rd), doubles (23 — 18th), triples (6 — 21st), RBI (75 — 18th), slugging percentage (.748 — 26th), total bases (163 — 21st), on-base percentage (.500 — 34th) and sacrifice flies (7 — 28th).

Harrow was the driving force behind the Mountaineers’ rebound from a 6-14 start, hitting .488 (61-for-125) with 54 RBI, 39 runs scored, 15 doubles, five triples, seven home runs, a .557 on-base percentage and .856 slugging percentage over the final 31 games of the regular season. He was particularly impressive during the Apps’ 18-2 April, batting .442 (34-for-77) with 35 RBI and 27 runs scored in 20 games, en route to being named the SoCon Player of the Month. Half of his 34 hits in April went for extra bases (eight doubles, three triples, six home runs), good for a .857 slugging percentage, and he hit safely in 19-of-20 games, including 14-straight to close out the month.

In addition to his three single-season records, Harrow became ASU’s all-time leader in at-bats (750), runs (165), hits (260), doubles (65), RBI (201) and total bases (421) during the course of the season.

Both players were selected in the first half of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft — Quate in the 14th round by the Tampa Bay Rays and Harrow in the 24th round by the New York Yankees.

Quate is currently playing for the Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York-Penn League and Harrow is playing for the GCL Yankees of the Gulf Coast League.

HARROW, DOWDY MAKE IMPRESSIVE PRO DEBUTS: Harrow and former ASU pitcher Josh Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) were both impressive in their first week as professional ballplayers.

Harrow went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run that provided the tying and winning runs in last Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over the GCL Pirates while Dowdy has not allowed an earned run and sports a 12-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in three appearances for the Bluefield Orioles of the Appalachian League.