College Baseball: Senior Byron McKoy is Temple's New Hit King
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Temple University baseball team has been one of the country's best offensive teams all season long, and one of the big reasons why is senior outfielder Byron McKoy.
McCoy is hitting .381 this season, and in an April 22nd win over New Orleans, he became the all-time hit leader in Temple history. He now has 244 career knocks.
"It's sunk in a little bit talking to everybody about it," McKoy told KYW's Matt Leon today. "Approaching the record, it didn't really hit me. It wasn't until afterwards, when I got the standing ovation when I got my hit in New Orleans and I got the ball in my hand that I realized it's an amazing accomplishment."
Hear Matt Leon's full interview with Byron McKoy in this CBS Philly SportsPod...
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McKoy has been a regular in the Owls' outfield since arriving as a freshman. And he says he has grown as a hitter in his time with the Owls.
"I think my approach is a little bit better now that I'm a senior. I have a better idea of what I'm doing. Coach (Rob) Valli is a good coach, he's helped a lot with my mechanics. I think I've made some adjustments as a hitter, as far as being able to see the ball better and making better contact."
McKoy passed Bob Filler for the top spot on the hit list. Filler had 234 hits during his career, which ended in 2001.
McKoy also has more hits than great Temple hitters like Bobby Higginson, Jeff Manto, and the late John Marzano. He talks about keeping pretty lofty company:
"It means a lot to me that I was able to even be mentioned in the same breath as those guys because they are such great hitters. That means a lot, especially since they were so good that they were able to make it to the Major Leagues."
McKoy doing it all this season offensively. In addition to the great batting average, he is second on the team with 42 runs scored and tied for the team lead with 18 walks.
He's also swiped 15 bases in 15 tries to pace the squad.
Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060
