Groton — It's a safe bet that Ben Ruta's name will be on the Mystic Schooners lineup card when he arrives at the ballpark.

It's hard for manager Phil Orbe to sit a player that leads the team in batting average (.336), RBI (25), hits (41), on-base percentage and is tied for first in runs (20) while ranking second in doubles (nine) and home runs (three).

Ruta started in right field and batted third Tuesday against the New Bedford Bay Sox in a New England Collegiate Baseball League game at Fitch High School.

"He's a guy that makes it very, very difficult to take him out of the lineup," Orbe said. "Just his versatility, being able to play both corner outfield spots and just being in the middle of the lineup. He's probably been our most consistent productive offensive player."

For a team-high 32nd time this season, Ruta was in the starting nine on Tuesday. The team's Ironman has started all but two games.

"I'm not the type of person that will ask for an off-day because it's a real privilege to be out here every day," Ruta said. "I want to help the team as much as possible and I think I can do that more on the field than off.

"I really take pride in playing in as many games as I can."

The reliable Ruta was one of five Mystic Schooners to be selected to the NECBL all-star game, which was rained out on Sunday. He was named a starter in the outfield.

He's a former Wagner College baseball teammate of Nolan Long of Waterford. In fact, Long, who was selected in the 16th round by Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2015 major league draft, convinced Ruta to play for the Schooners this summer.

It was an easy sell.

"I didn't know exactly where I wanted to go for summer ball and Nolan recommended that this was a great place with great host families and a nice town and obviously good baseball," Ruta said. "So he led me in the direction of Mystic and put me in touch with (Mystic coach) Dennis (Long). It just worked out from there."

Ever since he arrived, Ruta's produced.

Ruta extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games on Tuesday, going 1-for-4 in a 6-0 win over New Bedford. The Schooners (20-14) strengthened their hold on second place in the Southern Division.

Consistency is one of Ruta's trademarks.

Last spring at Wagner, Ruta earned All-Northeast Conference first team honors, batting .327 with 41 runs scored, 13 doubles, a team-high three triples, three home runs and 36 RBI while starting all 51 games. He had a personal-best 21-game hitting streak that dated back to the 2013 season.

A left shoulder injury, which he suffered while diving for a ball in the outfield, sidelined him for all but two games in 2014. He hit .322 with 17 RBI as a freshman.

It was a painful time for Ruta, who's not accustomed to sitting on the sidelines.

"It was frustrating, but you've just got to trust the process and keep working hard," Ruta said. "I knew I was going to come back strong. It wasn't my throwing arm, so I didn't have too much to worry about. It was just a lot of hard work to get back to the form that I'm in today."

The injury didn't disrupt Ruta's rhythm. He went right back to having productive at-bats.

"After missing almost a full year of baseball, he has a very good year for (Wagner)," Orbe said. "We knew we were getting a very solid player."

So far this summer, Ruta has avoided a slump. He's gone hitless in back-to-back games only once. He's stayed mentally tough whenever doubt tries to creep in.

"I just attribute it to solid swing mechanics and a good approach at the plate," Ruta said. "I really just try to put the good part of the bat on the ball and when you get to two strikes, just really try to put it in play. It's something that I've really worked hard on this summer."

Only nine regular-season games remain for Mystic, which is attempting to return to the postseason. Ruta hopes to remain a regular in the starting lineup.

"I pretty much prepare myself every day like I'm going to be in the starting lineup, regardless if I am or not," Ruta said. "You can only play baseball for so long ... so I want to play as much as possible. You can rest later in life."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe