Tony Thompson has arrived as a hitter.

Thompson, a sophomore third baseman who hit .276 as a freshman, stepped in against North Dakota left-hander Brandon Baumgartner and knew he was looking for something to take to the opposite field.

“I figured I’d be going with a right-field approach off of a lefty,” Thompson said. “I just tried to stay back and drive the ball to the right.”

Photo Gallery

Kansas Baseball vs. North Dakota

A photo gallery of the Jayhawks 8-2 win over North Dakota Tuesday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.

Thompson waited on a 1-1 count and drove an outside breaking ball down the right-field line and later scored on Zac Elgie’s line-out. It was a piece of hitting that coach Ritch Price said showed the maturation Thompson had displayed since the beginning of last season.

“He’s done a really nice job to stop being all dead-pull oriented, which is what he was when he got here,” Price said. “Now he’s staying more in the middle of the diamond, and I think you see that production. I think he understands that he has to use the whole field, and he’s made some great adjustments.”

The double extended Thompson’s hit streak to 15 games, and Kansas beat North Dakota 8-2. The streak dates back to May 2 of last year, a game the Jayhawks won against Oklahoma 17-15. Thompson has been dialed-in on his tear, hitting .441 in fifteen games with four doubles, two homers and 11 RBIs.

“I think I’m taking pretty much the same approach that I did at the end of last year,” Thompson said. “I just think I got some more experience, and I’ve been seeing the ball a lot better. I’m facing some good pitching, so I’m hoping as I go along that I’m going to get better.”

Thompson has been hitting after preseason All-Big 12 senior catcher Buck Afenir, who is hitting .462 after returning from a three-game suspension to start the season. Afenir credits some of his success to the emergence of Thompson.

“I’ll get a lot more fastballs probably during the course of the season,” Afenir said, “just because of the numbers he puts up and the presence he has in the lineup.”

His presence in the lineup has helped the Jayhawks average 8.3 runs per game since Afenir’s return.

“He’s a great player,” Afenir said. “He’s got a great swing, great eye. Everybody’s got to come through their freshman season, kind of break out of their shell.”

— — Edited by Grant Treaster