Thompson Shines as CornBelters Sting Bees, 7-3

Behind a red-hot performance from designated hitter Tyler Thompson and a dominant start on the
mound by Zach O’Donnell, the CornBelters rolled to a 7-3 win over the Burlington Bees on
Thursday night.
Thompson continued his strong season at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including a
double that capped off a late scoring surge in the eighth inning. He wasted no time making an
impact, driving in Jackson Smith with a single to right field in the bottom of the first to give the
CornBelters an early 1-0 lead.
The offense kept rolling in the fourth inning when left fielder Jack Novak launched a solo home run
over the right field fence, extending the lead to 2-0. An inning later, it was déjà vu as Thompson
delivered again — another RBI single to right, once again scoring Smith to make it 3-0.
While the bats were hot, the CornBelters got a strong outing from starter Zach O’Donnell. The
right-hander went four innings, striking out six and allowing just one hit to keep the Bees off the
scoreboard through the first half of the game.
The Bees broke through in the fifth with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 3-1, but the
CornBelters answered right back in the sixth — though it wasn’t pretty. A groundout by Smith
brought in one run, and one more came across on a miscue by the Bees’ shortstop, pushing the
lead to 5-1. Both runs were unearned, but they proved costly for Burlington.
The Bees tried to rally late, adding two runs in the top of the eighth on a fielder’s choice and an
RBI single to make it 5-3, but the CornBelters responded in the bottom half. Thompson crushed
a double down the left-field line, scoring Z. Zychowski and putting the game out of reach at 7-3
with Zbrozeck scoring on a wild pitch in the 8th as well.
Novak also had a strong night for the CornBelters, going 3-for-4 with the homer, while Smith
finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Shea Zbrozek chipped in with a 3-for-5 effort and crossed
the plate twice.
With the win, the CornBelters now advance to 2-1 on the season and sweep the Bee’s at home
2-0. The Cornbelters will face the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in a 2 game series Friday and
Saturday in Peru.