Millbrae’s Thomson emerging as power threat for Lewis & Clark College baseball team

A Millbrae native who graduated from St. Ignatius in 2018, Thomson was really heating up in 2020 just before the season was shuttered. On March 7, 2020, which turned out to be the penultimate day of the 16-game season, he homered three times in a doubleheader split with George Fox University, giving him a team-leading four home runs to finish the season.

“I can only imagine how many he would have had if he had a chance to finish the season,” Lewis & Clark manager Matt Kosderka said.

One of three standout players on the Lewis & Clark roster hailing from San Mateo County — along with senior infielder Tyler Gannon (Burlingame) and senior pitcher Dominic Monozon (San Mateo) — Thomson woke up the Lewis & Clark lineup in last weekend’s season-opening four-game series against visiting Whitman College.

Thomson went 4 for 11 with two home runs in the series while hitting safely in all four games. Lewis & Clark dropped three of the four, but it was Thomson who put the Pioneers on the board in their only win, a 9-7 comeback in the second game of Saturday’s opening-day twin bill.

Lewis & Clark managed just three hits in Game 1, a 9-1 loss, then fell behind 5-0 early in the nightcap. But in the third, Thomson sparked the comeback when he connected with a fastball over the outer third of the plate and sent a high-arcing shot sailing over the fence in left-center field. The following day, he clubbed a grand slam in a 14-8 loss.

“That’s definitely part of my tools now,” Thomson said. “I am definitely more of a power guy than in my freshman year or when I was in high school.”

Adding 40 pounds since his senior year at St. Ignatius — where he hit just one home run in two years of varsity baseball — Thomson has also refined his hitting mechanics, taking some loft out of his swing to keep his bat head flat in an effort to add more backspin.

The results are evident. After St. Ignatius, where he posted a career varsity slugging percentage of .403, he opened his collegiate career slugging .341 as a freshman in 2018. Last year, he raised his slugging percentage to .580; and this year, through the first four games, he is off to a booming 1.091 start.

“When he connects, it’s a different kind of connection,” Kosderka said. “He’s a specimen and a person to watch swing. It’s very strong, very powerful … so when he swings, it has a chance to leave the park at any time.”

Thomson said he almost opted to forgo playing college baseball. His older sister Katie, who was a prep softball standout at St. Ignatius, chose to focus on academics by going to University of Oregon. Thomson nearly followed in his sister’s footsteps until he had a heart-to-heart with his parents about the possibility of playing at the next level.

After he started shopping for colleges, it didn’t take long for Kosderka to sell him on his small private school program in Portland, Oregon. It wasn’t until Thomson arrived on campus that he learned there were two other players on roster who grew up in the neighboring cities of his hometown.

“It was really a coincidence,” Thomson said. “I didn’t even know they were on the team until I got up here. Honestly, I wasn’t even 100 percent I was going to play college baseball. But my coach got ahold of me and really sold me on the program. … It ended up being the best decision ever.”

Thomson didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome at the start of his collegiate career, though. That’s because when the Pioneers arrived for their home opener in 2019, the diamond at Roy Helser Field was covered in snow.

So, obviously the Pioneers called off the game, right? No.

“Our coach said just grab some shovels and start shoveling,” Thomson said.

This was the silver lining to Lewis & Clark’s season starting over a month later than normal this season.

“Usually, we’re starting in early February and we’re starting in 20-degree weather,” Thomson said. “So, this was actually nice because it was 50 and sunny.”

Monozon served as the opening-day starter this year and is still looking to fulfill his promise as the Pioneers’ No. 1 starter, a role he has served for the past three years. He has seen his share of setbacks and struggles, missing most of his freshman year in 2018 due to an arm injury. Near the end of last season, he reinjured his arm. He has posted a career record of just 2-12.

“He’s healthy,” Kosderka said. “He’s able to get his pitch count up. We weren’t sure that was going to be able to happen and I don’t think he was either.”

The right-hander’s velocity has dropped a tick, Kosderka said.

“But he throws a pretty heavy fastball, and a good combination of a curve and a slider,” he said. “So, he always has a chance to go out and shut guys down.”

Gannon has emerged as a regular middle-of-the-order presence for Lewis & Clark, and the right-handed hitting slugger was absolutely cooking when the 2020 season was canceled. The senior hit safely in nine of the 11 games he started last year, including five multi-hit games. He went on to hit .378 with a slugging percentage of .568.

“He had an incredible year for us last year,” Thomson said. “He’s one of those guys that can flat out swing it. So, it’s definitely nice to have him hitting in the lineup behind me. It’s good protection.”

But, with Thomson hitting in the No. 2 spot, he’s still at the heart of the Pioneers batting order, according to Kosderka.

“Jack’s been a huge part of our team,” Kosderka said. “And I think any team that game plans for our team game plans for him, No. 1.”