Jul. 30THOMPSON, N.D. During one of Minnesota Crookston's first road trips this past season, a coach asked freshman Thomas Schumacher how he was adjusting to college baseball."Well, it's a little different from Class B baseball in North Dakota," Schumacher responded. "But at the end of the day, baseball is baseball. You go out there and compete, and you see pitches. You hit the ball, make routine plays."The Thompson graduate adjusted quickly to the jump in competition. Playing primarily at second base, Schumacher made 20 starts in 29 appearances. He batted .242 with 16 hits and 10 RBIs."I'd say the biggest change was the pitching for sure," Schumacher said. "Everyone on the other team's roster can command three or four pitches, and throw with some good velocity. In Class B, you'll run into that occasionally, but it's not top to bottom."This summer, Schumacher had to readjust again. He has returned as the Thompson American Legion team's stalwart at shortstop.This Friday at 4 p.m. in Lisbon, N.D., Thompson will open Class B state tournament play against Velva as the defending champion.It'll be Schumacher's final postseason run with the program."It's something that I've been looking forward to since this time last year," Schumacher said. "I knew it would be with a different group of guys, and obviously I was looking forward to college, but I was waiting to wear a Thompson jersey again."Schumacher has played shortstop for Thompson for the past four years. He has won two Class B Legion state titles with the program, first in 2023 and again in 2025."Anytime you can get a player of his caliber back in your program, you're going to take advantage of it," head coach Nate Soulis said. "You get a little swagger from putting him in your lineup. Guys feel really good when he's on the mound, playing defense at short, or in the box."Schumacher is batting .394 with Thompson this summer, ranking third on the team among players with more than two at-bats. He ranks second on the team in hits (28) and home runs (two)."It took a couple of games (to readjust)," Schumacher said. "You've got to slow yourself down a little bit, just stay simple and don't let your thoughts get too big at the plate. I'm staying with my approach that I developed this past year at college."Schumacher has also contributed on the mound. He has a 2-2 record and an ERA of 3.08.Beyond his production, Schumacher is one of the team's key leaders. Thompson graduated a handful of seniors from last year's championship team, which makes Schumacher one of the most experienced players on a young roster."This is my sixth year here, and he's been with me all six," Soulis said. "He has an understanding of what we're looking for as a coaching staff. He can really be an extension and a branch to our young guys. Sometimes it can be better understood coming from a guy who's been there and done that. They're friends, they hang out, they're teammates, so sometimes when you hear it from your teammate, it can carry a bit more weight at times compared to a coach they get sick of hearing my voice."Schumacher has enjoyed the new dynamics of the roster this season. He's confident that the younger players will be ready for the level of play at the state tournament, especially considering the results from this week's North Dakota 13-15 Babe Ruth state tournament.Thompson beat Grafton to capture the Babe Ruth Class B state championship. A number of Thompson's Legion players were on that team, including Dex Avdem.Avdem, who leads Thompson with a .467 batting average, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player."I've been in their shoes before, playing both Babe Ruth and Legion," Schumacher said. "Being young, playing up against older kids. So it kind of feels weird being the older kid in this situation, but it's definitely fun. It's a good experience for sure."