The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.

All athletes talking about taking that next step — whether it’s from the youth ranks to high school; high school to junior college; junior college to four-year college; or from college to the pros. There is always an adjustment the player has to make as the competition gets better and stronger.

So far, College of San Mateo baseball player Justin Maffei has adjusted to the junior college ranks just fine. A former Serra standout, Maffei, in his first month of college ball, is hitting a robust .579 after a 4 for 5 performance in Wednesday’s Coast Conference Golden Gate Division opener. That average is tops in the state.

CSM manager Doug Williams, however, would rather Maffei stayed under the radar.

“We don’t want to jinx it,” Williams said.

It is hard, however, to hit a “quiet” .579. In 10 games, Maffei has 22 hits in 38 at bats, scoring 18 runs and driving in 10. Among those 18 hits were six for extra bases, including a home run.

“He hit very well during the fall and he’s been very receptive to the coaching,” Williams said. “He has the ability to do it. He also runs very well and has a cool demeanor.”

Making his performance at the plate even more eye-popping is the fact he is changing positions. An infielder and sometime outfielder at Serra, Maffei is making the move to full-time center field seamlessly.

“It’s to his credit. He’s a pretty tough kid, mentally,” Williams said. “He did play some center field at Serra. He has a good arm and is accurate.”

And despite the game of baseball being one of limited success and more failure — remember, getting three hits in 10 at-bats is considered very good — Williams believes Maffei can keep it up. Maybe not at the pace he is currently going, but he has the skills to be a very good hitter.

“No one is going to hit .600 (for a season),” Williams said.

What about .519? That’s the team record for a season batting average set by John Schmidt in 1995.

Regardless of where Maffei finishes, he’s already shown he can play this game.

“For a freshman, it’s pretty impressive,” Williams said.