It was the first time his teammates have ever given him a hard time about going 1 for 3 at the plate, and there were plenty of competitors that wanted to know just how he was doing it.

He said there’s no secret to how he hit .395 in his first season of rookie ball with the Orem Owlz — he showed up at the ballpark, just like he did during his time at Appalachian State.

“Halfway through the season, the opposing teams were just appalled I was at that level,” he said. “They were like, ‘What are you doing to hit like this?’

“I was just going out every day, doing what I have to do to compete.”

Pierson, chosen in the 21st round of June’s MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels, led the minor leagues in batting average by 11 points over the closest competitor.

It has been quite the journey for Pierson, who joined the Mountaineers as a preferred walk-on under coach Chris Pollard.

Primarily a pull-hitter in high school, Pierson never made an impact as a freshman and didn’t contribute much early in his sophomore season

Over that time, he worked with Josh Scott, a volunteer assistant, to adjust his swing to give himself a more complete approach, staying inside the ball to open up the rest of the field.

“When I came to college, it just wasn’t cutting it,” Pierson said. “I think working on that really made my game improve to a point where I was able to compete and be really successful at the next level.”

That work paid off during a late-season trip to Gonzaga with a grand slam — his first collegiate home run — earning his way into the lineup down the stretch.

“I had a really rough start and worked really hard to get back to where I knew I could get to. I knew I was a good hitter, I just wasn’t putting it together early in the season,” Pierson said. “Once I got it back, it kind of came together. Gonzaga was just a time that I got in a game and connected with one perfectly.”

After a breakout season in 2014, Pierson led the Mountaineers with a .346 batting average and 38 RBIs in 2015, drawing 41 walks versus 28 strikeouts.

Seven days after being selected by the Angels, Pierson took the field for Orem and didn’t skip a beat, starting his professional career with hits in nine straight games, batting .400 over that span.

His average hovered around the .400 mark for the entire season, hitting safely in every game in July as he built a 26-game hitting streak.

“I think the mental approach and just execution of my at-bats was just really good, and throughout the season, was pretty consistent,” Pierson said.

He also admitted there was a certain amount of luck.

“To hit that well, it took some luck. I mean, there were definitely some balls I was hitting that were hitting some holes that you wouldn’t normally find holes,” Pierson said. “When you feel good at the plate and you see the ball well, and you see a lot of fastballs, you’re going to have good results.”

His batting average was at .401 on Aug. 15 before a hitless game dropped him below the coveted mark.

“It was one of those things, where I look at my batting average, but I wasn’t engulfed in focusing on that,” he said. “The good thing was we were winning a lot, and our team was such a good team during that time. It kind of just let me enjoy the players I was playing with, enjoy winning.”

He never got the chance to make the final push for .400 as his season ended with a broken hand on Aug. 19 after he was hit by a pitch. Pierson missed the final 22 games of the season, and has since been in a brace, itching to get back to work.

After spending a week in Boone, Pierson leaves for the Arizona Instructional League with a chance to impress Angels management.

Regardless of what happens next, winning the MiLB batting title will be a career highlight.

“It was a really cool experience, and something I’ll definitely remember for a while.”