FARGO — Three-time defending champion Thompson was dominant in its opening game of the 2025 Class B Baseball Tournament, defeating Renville County 9-1 in the quarterfinal round.
Jonathan Muhs got the party started for the Tommies in the first as his single to center scored Dex Avdem and Thomas Schmacher to lead 2-0. Thompson worked some two-out magic in the second as Avdem singled to left and Schmacher reached on error, setting the stage for William Welke, who hit a bases-clearing triple to push the Tommies’ lead to four.
The score remained 4-0 until the fourth when Thompson blew the game open, sending eight men to the plate and scoring three runs as the Muskrats walked three batters and allowed two sacrifice flies.
Welke put the finishing touches on the victory in the sixth with a single down the left field line that scored Avdem and Schmacher and made the score 9-0, Thompson.
Renville County got a run back in the road half of the seventh when Robert Zumbaum singled to right to score North Dakota State football commit Walker Braaten. The one run was all that the Muskrats could muster against the Tommies’ tough pitching.
Brayden Tyce grabbed the win in his five innings of work, striking out four in 70 pitches. Renville County’s Drayson Johnson didn’t fare as well as he was rocked for seven runs over four innings. He struck out five batters on 96 pitches thrown.
Second-seeded Thompson will face the winner of No.3 Northern Cass and Bishop Ryan-Nedrose in the semifinals tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.
Grant Hubbard is a newsroom intern for The Forum reporting on local news and sports. Readers can reach Grant at 701-715-6875 or ghubbard@forumcomm.com. Follow him on X @ghubbard_pxp.