Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
Kevin Higgins waves hello to the camera. He is in the on-deck circle during an Owlz home game, weight on his bat and helmet on his head.
Posted: Oct 03, 2022

Hit-Happy Higgins

It's hard to tell if Kevin Higgins' season produced more hits or more happy faces.

The clubhouse favorite finished his first year of pro ball with 118 hits, making him (so far) the only NoCo Owl to ever eclipse the 100-hit threshold.

Naturally, the masher from Massachusetts led all the birds' batters in hits. He ranked second in games played (85), at-bats (335), runs scored (61), RBI (57), batting average (.352), and on-base percentage (.379) too, not to mention top-five finishes in plate appearances (352), doubles (13), and total bases (146).

With all that production, plus the personality, it's easy to see how Higgins became one of this club's key catalysts.

A big reason why: the shortstop boasted an ability to bank base knocks in bunches.

Higgins hacked a hit in 65 of his 85 games. In 39 of those games, he notched more than one, giving him the league's eighth-highest total for multi-hit games this season.

He hammered out a three-hit game 12 times. That's at least five more three-hit games than anyone else on the team.

Four separate times, Higgins strung together at least three multi-hit games in a row, headlined by a six-game multi-hit streak from July 17-22. 

Speaking of July, that's when he fired off 45 hits. It's tied for the highest hit total by any NoCo batter in a single month. His .425 average during July also became the team's second-best mark in any full month of this season. In the field, he committed a single July error in 90 total chances.

Even during the dog days of summer, Higgins had that dawg in him.

He took that reputation on the road too, where he batted .401./425/.505 in 46 games. Of his 118 hits, 77 came away from home. So did 10 of his 13 doubles. Plus 39 of his 61 runs scored. And all four of his stolen bases.

The delightful dynamo defended better on the road too. That's where he racked up 118 of his 188 defensive assists. It's also where he turned 21 of his 31 double plays. 

By the way, his 188 overall assists not only led the Owlz, but it ranked fifth in the Pioneer League by season's end. 

Higgins is well-rounded and well-respected. His instant likability turned him into an immediate leader. Just about anything his team needed - offensively, defensively, behind the scenes - he did it. 

And not only did he do it. He did it with a smile.