Harpine shines in Harrisonburg

STAFFORD — Colonial Forge High School graduate Chris Harpine has former prep teammates playing college baseball with Division I schools such as Virginia, Richmond and William and Mary.

But Harpine has found a home at Eastern Mennonite University, a Division III program in Harrisonburg. Many of the balls he hit this spring found a home over the fence at schools around the Old Dominon Athletic Conference.

Harpine, a sophomore center fielder for the Royals of EMU, led the ODAC in home runs with 13 and he batted .376 overall and .486 in ODAC action. He also hit eight of his homers with 23 RBI in league play and three times he had more than one homer in a game, including three long balls against Virginia Wesleyan. The Stafford resident led EMU in doubles (10), triple (four), RBI (44), total bases (107), runs (36) and hits (50). Harpine was named an all-ODAC player in early May.

"He really put up the power numbers for this year," EMU head coach Mark Mace said May 15. "Chris is a hard worker. His hard work is starting to pay off. He has very quick hands and great extension. He gets every ounce of energy through the baseball. He hit serious bombs. When he is hot he is unreal. He was kind of overshadowed in high school. In my mind he could play at the Division I level. He is a great player."

Harpine also considered attending Bridgewater College, a rival of EMU. But after meeting Mace of the Royals he went with EMU.

"He made it so open and welcome and he knew the coach at Colonial Forge," said Harpine, whose aunt graduated from EMU's nursing program.

"I felt like it would be like Colonial Forge all over again. I came in and won a spot as a freshman."

The business administration major hit .325 with three homers as a freshman, when he was honorable mention all-ODAC. Last summer he played American Legion baseball for Post 290 in Stafford. But it was the work he did off the field that may have helped his improvement this spring.

"Over the summer I worked with United Van Lines and that helped out with my strength," said tri-captain Harpine, who lifted boxes and couches in that job. "I honestly didn't gain weight. My strength skyrocketed but my weight stayed about the same. In the fall I was in the weight room every day."

Harpine hopes to get a shot this summer to play in the Shenandoah Valley League with the Front Royals Cardinals, who begin the season in late May. Most of the players in the league are from Division I college programs, but standouts from EMU and other Division III schools have appeared in the league in the past.

Jake Norman, who also graduated from Colonial Forge, was a sophomore first baseman this season at EMU and was roommates with Harpine. Other former players from the school who played college baseball this spring include Billy Barber (Richmond), Jeff Jones (William and Mary) and Jarrett Parker (Virginia).

David Driver is a contributing writer to The Stafford County Sun. Reach him at info@staffordcountysun.com.