PITTSBURGH — Colin Williamson doesn’t just bear down on every at bat.

It’s every pitch.

And it’s paying off.

The Butler graduate and La Roche College sophomore third baseman is the leadoff hitter for the Redhawks, one of the most productive baseball teams in all of NCAA Division III this spring.

“Colin doesn’t just set the table. He sets the tone,” said La Roche copach Chase Rowe, a Knoch graduate.

Williamson hit approximately .315 as La Roche’s starting center fielder last season while hitting at the bottom of the order.

This year, Rowe moved him to third base and the top of the lineup — and Williamson’s numbers are off the charts.

“This year, I’m using a pitch-by-pitch approach. We all are and it’s working,” Williamson said. “You have to be ready for every pitch, not just the at bat itself.

“Stay dialed in that way and you won’t miss anything.”

Williamson hasn’t missed much.

He is one of two La Roche regulars hitting above .400. The team carries a 355 overall batting average. Williamson has a .403 average and leads the Redhawks with 50 hits and 76 total bases. He’s also been hit by a pitch a team-high eight times.

Williamson ranks third on the team with 30 runs scored and a .613 slugging percentage. His nine doubles rank fourth on the squad and he’s struck out only eight times in a team-leading 124 at bats.

He has started all 33 of his team’s games thus far.

“Colin is a super competitive person and he’ll only continue to improve,” Rowe said. “He’s very hard on himself and he’s made himself into a very good collegiate hitter.”

His defense isn’t too bad, either. Williamson has committed only seven errors at third base.

“We wound up with a surplus of outfielders on the roster this year and I needed a third baseman,” Rowe said. “Colin was a very good high school shortstop and I figured he could make the adjustment.

“He’s done more than that. He’s one of the best defensive third basemen I’ve seen this year and we’ve played a number if nationally-ranked teams.”

Williamson said playing shortstop before has helped his play at third.

“No question it has,” he said. “The reaction time obviously has to be quicker, but that’s about the only thing that’s different. I’ve played pretty much every position at some point in baseball, though I haven’t done much pitching or played first.

“I did some catching in high school. I broke my catcher’s mitt my senior year ... I haven’t had to get another one.”

La Roche is 22-11 overall this season, 11-1 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play. The Redhawks are hitting .444 in AMCC games. Williamson is hitting an astounding .521, collecting 25 hits in 48 at bats.

La Roche has outscored its opposition 289 to 107 this season. The team has scored at least 15 runs in each of its last 10 games — all wins — outscoring its foes 187 to 31 during the streak.

“It’s been so much fun ... I’ve never seen anything like it,” Williamson said of the team’s current streak. “Everybody’s just been so hot at the plate, from top to bottom in the lineup.”

Williamson, senior shortstop Sean Lubin and junior first baseman Brian Tougher are the only starting position players back from last year’s team. La Roche won a school-record 29 games a year ago before losing in the AMCC championship game.

“I like the motivation of this group of players,” Rowe said. “They want to succeed and they’re working to succeed.”

A marketing major, Williamson is carrying a 3.65 grade point average.

“The knowledge I have now, both in academics and in baseball, has made me better,” Williamson said. “Coach (Rowe) knows his stuff. We respect him and we’ve learned from him.

“I don’t know how far we can go as a team, but I’m excited to find out.”