Coble, who bats left-handed, leads the League in several offensive categories, including RBIs (29), batting average (.420) and on-base percentage (.500) while ranking sixth in slugging percentage (.591). Coble credits his improvement to his time practicing with the Dartmouth coaching staff, as well as his experience playing with the AWBIL Royals of the Great South League a collegiate summer league that plays in baseball-rich southeastern states like Georgia and North Carolina last summer.
"Working with the coaches up here, we do a lot of vision drills and stuff to make sure we keep our swings short mechanical stuff," Coble said of his time at Dartmouth. "We worked a lot in the cages, and it's definitely paid off."
Teammate Chris O'Dowd '13 said Coble hits with surprising power for someone who stands at just 5' 11'', 170 lbs. Coble's smaller size, coupled with his speed, "can change things on the bases."
Coble's short, efficient swing also makes him one of the team's best hitters.
"This year, I think he really simplified things and started taking what the other team's giving him," captain Joe Sclafani '12 said.
O'Dowd added that Coble has "great instincts," and shows impressive offensive consistency.
That consistency has been on full display in the current season, as Coble has recorded a hit in 19 of 23 games so far. He has recorded 10 multi-hit games.
"This year, he's really taken a step forward," O'Dowd said.
Lefty pitchers generally have an advantage over lefty hitters, and Coble has struggled to hit against left-handed pitching in the past. After facing several college pitchers with the Royals last summer, however, that aspect of Coble's game improved.
"It was something I didn't see much growing up," Coble said. "Last year, I was uncomfortable playing lefties, but I saw a bunch of lefties over the summer and got more comfortable with it."
Coble adapted well to the college game in his rookie season in 2010. He started 32 of 46 games and the Big Green won its second consecutive League title. Coble batted .311 with two homers, 23 RBIs and a team-high five triples that year.
The highlight of the season for Coble was the chance to play against schools such as the University of Miami and Texas A&M University at the NCAA Regional, an experience he hopes will become commonplace during his time in Hanover.
Coble said the team's goal is to win as many League championships as possible.
While Coble spent most of last season as the Big Green's designated hitter, he has lined up all over the diamond in 2011, starting games at left field, third base and, recently, second base, in addition to reprising his DH duties. Coble said he has no preference for where he plays, and can fill in wherever head coach Bob Whalen needs him.
"It really doesn't matter to me either way, whatever I can do to help the team out," Coble said.
Coble, who is from Atlanta, Ga., arrived at Dartmouth after a successful high school career at Chamblee Charter School. He tore up the record books while at Chamblee, hitting .618 as a junior and breaking the Georgia state record for career triples with 19.
Coble is the oldest of three brothers, and he said that while they all played competitive baseball together, the three were always supportive of each other in their careers.
"For the most part, we always played on the same teams," Coble said of his brothers Alex, a freshman shortstop at Morehouse College, and David, a junior outfielder at Chamblee. "We were always competitively pushing each other to get better."
Coble also played for the fabled East Cobb Baseball program, which has turned out numerous major leaguers over the years. The top two rookies in the National League last season, Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants and Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves, played for the program.
In 2007, after his sophomore year of high school, Coble was dissapointed after unsuccessfully trying out for a team.
"We all tried out for the number one team in the complex, the Astros, but we all got cut from it," Coble said.
Being cut served as powerful motivation for Coble and the rest of the East Cobb Titans, as the team ultimately ended up winning the 16U Perfect Game Baseball Championship Series National Championship. Coble took home team MVP honors.
A year later, the Dartmouth coaching staff saw Coble at a tournament at East Cobb and began recruiting him. Coble chose Dartmouth over offers from Harvard University, Savannah State University and the University of Kentucky.
"I really liked the guys on the Dartmouth team," Coble said. "They're going to be my friends for the rest of my life."
O'Dowd said the team feels the same way about Coble.
"Ennis is a great kid," O' Dowd said. "He's very humble and reserved, but always friendly and sincere. Everyone on the team and everyone he interacts with on campus has only good things to say about Ennis."
Sclafani added that Cobble appears "excited" on the field, and called his attitude "infectious."
Coble said he does not have any specific future goals and that, like most sophomores, he is still uncertain of his plans after Dartmouth.
"Just continuing to get better and be the best that I can be at what I do," he said.
As the top hitter in the League so far this season, Coble is well on his way to that accomplishment.
