By Eli Halverson & Gavin Stark | July 27, 2025

On Saturday night, the 2025 GLSCL regular season officially came to a close, and the Hamilton Joes finished on a high note—sweeping a three-game series against division rival Xenia Scouts.

Now, it’s postseason time. The stakes are higher, the margins are thinner, and only one team will emerge as champion.

After this weekend’s sweep, the Joes will regroup and prepare for a best-of-three playoff series against a familiar foe: the Scouts. Hamilton has had the upper hand in the season series, going 4-2 against Xenia, with both losses coming by razor-thin margins—one by a single run and the other in a sudden-death tiebreaker on June 29.

So, what has to go right for Hamilton to keep its momentum and punch a ticket to the league championship series?

Keys at the Plate

The Joes have been scorching hot offensively. Over their last eight games, they’ve averaged nearly eight runs per contest—including three double-digit scoring efforts. But this isn’t just a late-season surge; Hamilton’s bats have been consistent all year. They finished the regular season second in the league in runs, first in on-base percentage (OBP), second in stolen bases, and third in on-base plus slugging (OPS).

This is a lineup that hits one through nine, with all-stars across the board. Leading the charge are Jackson Wang and Jaxson Christ, both starters in last week’s All-Star Game. Wang capped off a remarkable regular season by hitting .345 with a league-leading 48 hits and 32 RBIs. He also added three homers and 11 doubles—both near the top of the league leaderboard. Simply put, Wang put together an MVP-caliber campaign and will be central to Hamilton’s playoff success.

Christ was excellent in his own right. He batted .330, slugged seven doubles and three homers, and led the league in hit-by-pitches with an astounding 21—despite missing time earlier in the year. (Wang was second in the league with 16.)

While Wang and Christ are the stars, this offense is far from top-heavy.  Brett Denby, the 2025 GLSCL All-Star game MVP, is someone who we think has gone under-the-radar in this lineup and had a really nice season.  He hit .283 and drove in 29 runs, third-most on the team. Meanwhile, Miguel Correa was second on the squad in RBIs with 30—tied for third in the entire GLSCL—and finished the season batting .271 with eight extra-base hits.  

One of the most notable late-season surges came from Christopher Roa, who has caught fire in July.  After a slow start—just two hits in his first eight games—Roa rebounded in a big way.  He racked up three multi-hit games this month, including multiple three-hit outings, and ended the season hitting .296.  He also tied for the team lead in stolen bases with 18, making him one of the most valuable players on this entire team.  

Keys on the Mound

The main talking point all season has been pitching for this Joe's squad and that remains the same as we head into the playoffs. The ace all season has been the recent Wright State commit Michael Bilo with an outstanding 1.0 ERA with a team high 35.2 innings of work. Bilo was arguably the best arm in the entire GLSCL throughout the summer, but his dominant campaign was unfortunately cut short after the All-Star break. While his absence is a significant loss, the Joes’ pitching staff still boasts plenty of firepower.

Leading the charge is the dynamic two-way talent Marc Iozzo. Whether at first base or on the mound, Iozzo has delivered for the Joes in every facet of the game. On the bump, he’s been lights-out with a 1.66 ERA, and he’s expected to take the ball for Game 1 of the Xenia series. As the Joes prepare for a deep playoff run, they’ll be relying heavily on Iozzo to provide a steady hand both in the field and on the mound.

Another standout is Dale Ellis, who returned from a two-week injury and immediately looked sharp. In his most recent start on July 25th, Ellis tossed 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. With a 1.88 ERA on the season, Ellis figures to be a key piece in the postseason rotation.

While the starting rotation has been reliable, the bullpen has been a source of concern at times due to inconsistency. However, the second half of the season has seen major improvements from the relief corps. Arms like Dylan Thompson, Brendan Mullin, Jack Cecil, and Justin Hoevel have all begun to find their rhythm.

Thompson, in particular, shined Friday night by throwing 3.1 dominant innings to close out the game—surrendering just one hit. After the game, Thompson shared his confidence in the bullpen heading into the playoffs: “The bullpen has never felt better. Everyone feels great and loose.” Words like those are exactly what a championship-contending team wants to hear.

As the Joes gear up for a postseason run, the pitching staff appears to be hitting its stride at the perfect time. If they can continue this level of performance, the road to a title might just run through Hamilton.

Series Prediction

Both teams enter the playoffs with some of the top talent in the entire league, but in a short three-game series, regular-season records go out the window. It often comes down to one thing: pitching depth.

Across the GLSCL, college programs have pulled back pitchers late in the season to preserve arms, and both the Joes and Scouts have felt the impact. Hamilton, in particular, is without key arms like Brower, Bilo, and potentially others.

Still, even with those losses, depth matters—and we think Hamilton has it. The Joes have one of the deepest rosters in the league, and with how their offense has clicked all year long, they remain dangerous, even facing the same pitching questions that everyone else has as well.

It won’t be easy. Expect tight games, tense moments, and timely hitting to decide the series. But if forced to pick, we’re taking the Joes in three games to advance to the League Championship Series, where they’ll face either the Locos or the Monarchs.

Game One is scheduled for Monday, July 28 at 7:05 PM, at Grady’s Field in Xenia, Ohio.