A little risk has paid off big time for a non-traditional student who took a chance with the Riverland softball team this season.

After staying away from softball for five years (besides a stint in a league this past summer), Laura Meyer, who is from Minneapolis, decided she wanted to give softball a try again after enrolling at RCC this past fall. She shook off some early nerves and things couldn’t have gone better for the freshman as she leads the NJCAA in hitting with a .553 batting average and she has hit safely in all 21 of Riverland’s games.

“There’s no way I expected this,” said Meyer, who catches and plays center field for the Blue Devils (12-9 overall). “I wanted to be in the .300s. That would’ve been good and I would’ve been happy with that. But I’ve been doing really well and that’s a nice feeling.”

Meyer has 15 multi-hit games this season and she has 13 total RBIs, while striking out just twice. The lefty slap hitter has even added some power to her swing with four extra base hits.

“I’m a natural righty but I’m working to hit away left handed,” she said. “It’s working so far. Which makes it nice because the defense can’t cheat.”

Meyer’s biggest fear about coming to RCC was the age difference between her and her teammates. But her worries were vanquished quickly.

“They’ve been really nice in taking me in even though I’m older than them,” she said. “I was a little nervous that they’d make fun of me or make comments. But they’ve been amazing about it and it’s such a great team.”

Meyer’s path to RCC started when she made up her mind that she wanted to get out of the cities. Her grandparents lived in Austin and she figured she’d give it a try.

“So far I love it and I’m thinking about coming back next year,” she said.

RCC head coach Dave Lillemon said that Meyer has taken on a big leadership role and she’s been a huge positive for his squad.

“Her batting average is no accident,” he said. “Her dedication and commitment is a testimony of her hard work. She’s a great athlete and she’s got great speed.”

Her speed and throwing arm make her a dual threat. While playing catcher, she hasn’t allowed a stolen base all season and she is always a threat beat out a bunt for a hit. Meyer is 19-for-19 on steals and has scored 25 runs.

“She hustles all the time and she’s been a like a captain or coach on the field,” Lillemon said. “That’s been a tremondous attribute to our team.”

RCC will host St. Cloud Tech for a doubleheader at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.