Children of the 60s and 70s may murmur, "Pete Rose." Contemporary rooters can aptly link him with animated Arizona outfielder Eric Byrnes or energetic Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein.
The overview is a sketch of an Australian lad who was assigned to the New Britain Rock Cats as a utility player and has emerged as a budding star who manager Riccardo Ingram just can't keep out of the lineup.
Hughes extended his string of consecutive times reaching base to 11 with three hits and Garrett Guzman drove in four runs Friday night to lead the Rock Cats to an 11-8 win over the Bowie Baysox in a slugfest before 7,091 at The Emerald.
"He has life, he has energy," Ingram said about Hughes. "He's a guy that these guys rally around. He's witty. He's a good teammate. It's all in good chemistry. The guys root for him when he's in there and he's starting to play better. He puts good swings on the ball and can play anywhere on the field."
Hughes went 3-for-4 on Wednesday with hits in his final two at-bats against Altoona. On Thursday, he was a perfect 4-for-4 in an otherwise dismal loss to the Curve. Against Bowie, he had two doubles, a perfectly placed bunt single, executed a sacrifice in which he reached on an error and walked.
Hughes is 12 for his last 14 and has raised his batting average from .265 to .351.
"I'm getting some pitches to hit, I'm not missing them and they're finding gaps," Hughes said. "It's a lot of fun to be out there. I get a hit, look in the dugout and the guys are laughing at me. It's good times."
Guzman went 3-for-5, driving in three runs with his fifth home run of the year to highlight a five-run third inning that catapulted New Britain (30-25) into a 6-3 lead. He had two singles when the Rock Cats batted around in the fifth inning.
Brian Buscher and Felix Molina also had three hits each in the 17-hit assault on Bowie starter Fredy Deza (1-5) and two relievers.
"We had a lot of good swings early in the count and we were able to center the ball up," Ingram said. "We did some things to make it easier on us pitching-wise but we still struggled to hold them down."
Kyle Waldrop (1-3) was the beneficiary of the power surge, gaining his first Double-A win despite allowing seven runs on six hits. J.P. Martinez pitched the final three innings to earn his second save in celebration of his 25th birthday.
"Even though I got a win tonight, I didn't throw my best," Waldrop said. "I was kind of inconsistent. I had flashes of throwing well, considering I had seven strikeouts and no walks, but then again, I (didn't) get pitches down and they took advantage of that."
Waldrop retired the side in order in the first inning but the heart of the Baysox' order wreaked havoc in the second.
Waldrop hit Oscar Salazar in the ribs. Jeff Fiorentino slammed a double to the wall in center, sending him to third. Val Majewski crash-landed a 1-1 delivery over the center field wall for his third homer of the season and a 3-0 Bowie lead.
The Rock Cats scored once in the home half on Hughes' first hit, a double up the gap in right. His second hit - a bunt single that rolled parallel with the third base line for 85 feet - was a part of a five-run rally that turned the game around.
"I'll take that, too," Hughes said.
New Britain also scored five runs in a fifth inning fueled by two Bowie errors. Molina and Trevor Plouffe had RBI singles.
Eli Whiteside pounded a three-run homer in the sixth to pull Bowie (29-30) back in the game at 11-7. The Baysox loaded the bases with one out in the eighth and brought the tying run to the plate twice but Martinez fanned Whiteside and retired pinch-hitter Ryan Hubele on a grounder to short.
Martinez retired the side on order in the ninth.