Having a .300 batting average in baseball isn’t easy to do. Yet three Riverhawks players are hitting well over that number.   

Utility infielder Ethan Grieb, a second-year transfer studies student, is hitting .347 which leads the Riverhawks. Grieb, a right-handed batter, noted hitting the ball to every part of the field is the reason why he’s having so much success at the plate. 

“I mean, good hitters can hit the ball where it’s pitched and that’s what I’m doing right now,” Grieb, also a pitcher, said. “My approach has just changed this year [which has] helped me out. And that’s why I’m having these results.” 

Second baseman John Greenawalt is hitting .345 on the season and shortstop Dyllon Barrett has a .333 batting average. The Riverhawks are hitting .267 as a team, which is up 34 points from last season.

“Sometimes success can be contagious [for fellow teammates],” baseball head coach Nick Hoffner said. “So hopefully some other guys can feed off of that so we can get some more guys going and make our offense more dynamic.”

At the plate, Barrett, a first-year cybersecurity student, said he’s having more success off of right-handed pitchers rather than left-handers. 

“We face primarily right-handed pitchers and that’s what I’m used to seeing a lot.” Barrett said “Honestly, I’ve seen a lot less left-handers.”

Grieb, Barrett and Greenawalt also lead the squad in stolen bases. Barrett leads the National Junior College Athletic Association with 39 stolen bases this season. 

“I think [those three players stealing bases is] big just because it puts pressure on the other team,” Hoffner said. “They’re aware of what these guys can do when they get on the base.”

Greenawalt, a first-year transfer studies student, noted it’s important “to keep putting in the work every day. We’re out here five, six days a week.”

Reporter Aidan Gunn contributed to this story.