JAMESTOWN, N.D. - Kolby Metzger’s all-around ability kept Thompson at bay.
The Hazen senior allowed just two hits over five innings, helping his cause with a two-run home run in a 10-3 win Thursday at Jack Brown Stadium. The Class B state tournament quarterfinal victory advanced the Bison (17-8) to today’s 4:30 p.m. semifinal against Grafton.
It was technically the first upset of the tournament, as Thompson (15-3) entered with the No. 2 seed.
“I feel like people kind of underestimate us,” Metzger said. “Other people are looking at us as being an underdog, but we definitely feel like we belong here.”
Metzger finished 3-for-4 with a walk and four runs batted in, driving a Ryne Dolleslager fastball over the left-field fence in the third inning for an early 2-0 advantage. It was his third long ball of the season.
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“I put a good a swing on it and watched it go over the fence - that’s a good feeling,” Metzger said.
Said Thompson coach Brady Schwab: “We threw him a bunch of different stuff. He’s got a good bat.”
Metzger was equally as impressive on the hill, holding Thompson scoreless with mostly fastballs. He walked one batter, plunked another and finished with eight strikeouts.
“He shut us down,” Schwabe said. “He did a nice job mixing speeds with his fastball. He had good location and he was down in the zone.”
Hazen exploded for five runs in the sixth, putting the game out of reach with the help of five walks. Dolleslager, who suffered his first loss in eight starts, was part of a pitching staff that issued 11 walks and hit three batters. He was tagged for four runs on six hits.
“I don’t know if we beat ourselves as much as we just got beat,” Schwabe said. “We didn’t play very well.”
