Blake Bowen of the Lima Locos follows through on his swing after driving a ball to the outfield earlier this season.
Chris Howell | The Lima News
Earlier this week we broke down the numbers of some of the top pitchers in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League at the season’s midpoint.
Now it’s time for the top hitters.
The Locos currently lead the league in runs with 125 through 18 games and a team batting average of .263.
Xenia has the most hits at 162 through 21 games and Hamilton hitters have struck out the least amount of times this season at 107 in 18 games.
In no particular order, here are seven hitters who’ve contributed directly to those stats for some of the league’s top offenses.
Blake Bowen, Lima Locos
Let’s start with the league leader in runs batted in.
Bowen has been a consistent source of offense for the Locos since opening day and the numbers reflect that.
The infielder who recently transferred to the University of Akron is hitting .381 through 18 games, which is the third-best mark in the GLSCL.
He’s the only player that’s topped 20 runs batted in, and he hit his second homer of the season on Thursday which puts him into a tie with Hunter Stong of South Ohio for third place in that category.
Bowen has reached base safely in all but one game this season, aided by 24 hits and 17 walks.
On June 14, he went 3 for 5 against South Ohio with three doubles and two runs batted in. It was one of two three-hit games he’s had this season.
Ryan Novak, Hamilton Joes
Novak is currently the cleanup hitter for 13-5 Hamilton, and judging by the way it’s worked out so far, he’s not giving up that spot anytime soon.
In 15 games, the lefthanded hitter from Canton, Georgia has 17 hits, including three doubles, three triples and a homer.
He’s also driven in 15 runs, and he walks more than he strikes out at 11-9.
On June 19 against Michigan, Novak went 4 for 4 with five runs batted in, leading his team to a 9-1 victory.
Novak’s 15 runs batted in is third best in the league and his .347 average puts him just inside the top-10 of all qualified hitters.
Noah Ruiz, Xenia Scouts
Ruiz’s team has played the most games of anyone this season with 21 and he’s been on base for all but three of them.
Xenia’s three-hole hitter has a league-best 28 hits and 11 walks this season, leaving his on-base percentage at .427.
His best night at the plate was on June 16 against Michigan when he had four hits, one RBI and two runs scored. In Ruiz’s most recent three-game series against South Ohio, he went 10 for 22 with three runs scored and three stolen bases.
The 5-10 infielder from San Diego, California is hitting .354, the seventh-best average in the league, with the second most runs batted in at 18.
Alex Ungar, South Ohio Copperheads
Ungar started the season by reaching base safely in his first six games. After he snapped that streak, he started a new one that lasted seven games.
He had his first hitless game in over two weeks on Thursday night against Xenia, but in the seven games prior to that, Ungar went 15 for 30 with three runs batted in and six runs scored.
The big 6-3 outfielder from Sacred Heart University also started the season by putting his power on full display with three home runs in his first five games.
Unger is an aggressive hitter out of the third spot in the lineup and almost never walks (two times in 65 plate appearances), but he also rarely strikes out (7).
He owns the second-best batting average in the league at .393, is tied for second in home runs (3) and has the same number of hits as Blake Bowen (24) which is the third-best total for all qualified hitters.
Carson McCoy, Muskegon Clippers
Though he’s only played 13 games, McCoy has put up numbers as impressive as any hitter in the league.
He’s the only player in the GLSCL with a batting average above .400 at .409. and he’s reached base safely in all 13 games he’s appeared in with a hit in 12 of them.
McCoy has a pair of three-hit games, one against Hamilton on June 11 where he drove in three runs and the other against Xenia on June 21 where he finished with two runs batted in and one run scored.
McCoy gets on base 55% of the time with his bat, then he showcases his speed with the third most stolen bases in the league at 14.
Ashten Wong, Muskegon Clippers
Wong’s batting average might be the lowest one on this list at .286, but his power numbers are the best in the league as the only player with four home runs.
And for a guy with a big swing, he backs it up with a good eye at the plate, striking out just eight times compared to 15 walks.
That’s more than one walk per game for Wong, who’s only made 11 appearances so far this year.
Of his eight hits, five of them have gone for extra bases.
Wong has also been on base at least once in every game he’s played.
Stefan Di Corrado, Grand Lake Mariners
In a season full of struggles, Di Corrado has been a bright spot for Grand Lake.
The Ivy Leaguer from Mississauga, Ontario is currently hitting .383 in 13 games. He’s got 18 hits in 47 at-bats with nine runs batted in and eight runs scored.
Di Corrado is also tied with Blake Bowen for the second-most doubles in the league with six.
His best game was on June 13 against Xenia where he went 2 for 2 with two doubles and three runs batted in. It was one of six two-hit games for Di Corrado so far.
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter/X at @Lima_Howell
