[EMSoccerCoach]

JUNE 5, 2017

Thompson joins 1,500 hit club
Arizona star is 4th to reach plateau

SACRAMENTO -- In what should be a landmark season for him, Arizona's Sam Thompson reached the first milestone tonight, becoming the fourth player in PBL history to amass 1,500 hits.

Thompson lined a one-out single to left in the first inning of a 6-3 loss to Sacramento, ripping a 1-1 fastball from Steve Rogers through the hole at short.

Los Angeles first baseman Dan Brouthers picked up his 1,500th hit in April, joining New Orleans' Jake Beckley and his fellow Idol Oscar Charleston.

"Just doing my job," Thompson said afterward. "A win would have made it easier to enjoy."

Thompson, a career .298 hitter, is batting .282 with 9 homers and 39 RBI. The PBL's alltime home run leader at 273, Thompson also is the career leader in RBIs at 979, and figures to reach the 1,000 RBI plateau sometime in July.

In May, Thompson, 33, signed a three-year extension that will keep him in Arizona through the 2020 season. He left New Orleans, where he played for six seasons, to come to Arizona after the 2014 campaign.

Sam Thompson