The 11th best hitter in the 2018 Valley League season, Charlottesville’s Patrick McColl, stands out for a couple reasons. First of all, he attends Harvard, a school that does not too often send players to the Valley, and is loaded with the mystique of an Ivy League school and the academics (and the endowment) that go along with the name. Secondly, though, he stands out just because he… stands out. He’s a large man. Listed at 6-foot-6, Patrick was pretty easy to pick out of a crowd, since he’s a head taller than most of his teammates.
He also had a tremendous summer for the Tom Sox. Take a look at his regular season and playoff numbers:
| VBL | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | SB | CS | Avg | OBP | SLG |
| 2018 | 35 | 136 | 29 | 50 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0.368 | 0.439 | 0.500 |
| Play | 6 | 23 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.304 | 0.467 | 0.435 |
He finished 6th in the league in batting average, 9th in on-base percentage, 9th in total bases (68), 9th in RBIs, tied for 3rd in hits, and tied for 10th in runs. He did not receive a first or second team All-Valley award, though, even with the above numbers. I believe he was a victim of a loaded first base position; there was a way around this, but it didn’t happen when the media voted.
Here is what the rising senior has done for the Crimson in his three years of college ball:
| Harvard | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | SB | CS | Avg | OBP | SLG |
| 2016 | 41 | 138 | 18 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 11 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0.261 | 0.325 | 0.319 |
| 2017 | 38 | 124 | 30 | 44 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 36 | 18 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0.355 | 0.459 | 0.621 |
| 2018 | 41 | 167 | 29 | 44 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 20 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0.263 | 0.351 | 0.383 |
He was All-Ivy LEague 2nd team his sophomore year, and was named to the ECAC Spring Academic Honor Roll and President’s List in 2018.
Watch for Patrick to have a excellent senior year, and hopefully get picked up as a senior sign with some upside.
Congrats, Patrick!
