Brent Lawrence of Burnaby and Jack Thompson from Coquitlam represented B.C. very well on the ball diamond for the Northern State University Wolves of South Dakota this past week in Tempe, Arizona for the opening week for NCAA college baseball.
Lawrence, 21, and Thompson were impact players for the NSU Wolves, who won four of eight games during the week. Lawrence closed out the final game of the week in dramatic fashion against Indiana Wesleyan University, hitting a walk-off two-run double with the bases loaded and the Wolves down by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game. Lawrence also had a stellar effort against Simpson College of Iowa when he hit three-for-four with a double and a two-run triple. Lawrence, the Wolves starting centre fielder, batted .348 with six runs scored, six walks, three stolen bases and seven RBI's in the eight games.
Thompson, the Wolves starting shortstop, had three multi-hit games in the same period, including a key game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning against Malone University of Iowa. The 22-year-old infielder also went two-for-three at the plate with two walks and three runs scored against Indiana. Thompson, who batted .333 with five runs scored and five walks with two stolen bases, also threw a pair of innings of no-hit ball to get the save against Simpson College.
Both Lawrence and Thompson played for the Coquitlam Reds in the B.C. Premier league and for junior college Douglas Royals of the Northwest Athletic Collegiate Conference.
