3 Riverhawks hitting over .300 this season

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Having a .300 batting average in baseball isn’t easy to do. Yet three Riverhawks players as of April 20 are hitting over that number.

Utility infielder Ethan Grieb, a second-year transfer studies student, is hitting .326 as of April 20. 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 .358 on the season, which leads the Riverhawks, and shortstop Dyllon Barrett has a .310 batting average. The Riverhawks are hitting .259 as a team as of April 20, which is up 26 points from last season.

“Sometimes success can be contagious,” 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 stu- dent, said he’s having more success off of right-handed pitchers rather than lefthanders.

“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 lefthanders.”

Grieb, Barrett and Greenawalt also lead the squad in stolen bases. Barrett leads the National Junior College Athletic Association with 40 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.”

Reporters Aidan Gunn and Micah Smith contributed to this story.