Louisville Baseball Completes Opening Week of Omaha Challenge
November 23, 2016 | Baseball
Red Team and Logan Taylor set the pace following the first week of competition
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Week one of the University of Louisville baseball team's 2016 Omaha Challenge concluded Tuesday with the Red Team leading the way while senior outfielder Logan Taylor held a narrow advantage in the individual race.
Captain and junior infielder Drew Ellis and the Red Team closed the opening week with 1,928 points, 74 points clear of the 1,854 points for the Black Team, captained by junior righthanded pitcher Lincoln Henzman. Individually, Taylor is atop the standings with 136 points for the Red Team, while senior righthanded pitcher Jake Sparger of the Red Team and sophomore infielder Daniel Little of the Black Team are tied for second with 133 points. Junior Austin Clemons of the Black Team was fourth with 129 points and freshman righthander Shay Smiddy from the Red Team rounded out the top five with 123 points.
The competition started Friday with the Red Team sweeping four straight rounds to win the best-of-seven competition. On Sunday, the Red Team continued its winning ways with a victorious performance in the paintball competition.
Monday's busy schedule began with Clemons winning the 2,100-yard shuttle run in a time of 7:57.45, while Smiddy (8:02.02) and Little (8:14.10) completed the top three spots. In the second event of the day, Taylor won the towel hang competition with a time of 2:04.14 and was followed by freshman righthanded pitcher Daniel Fischer (1:45.50) and Sparger (1:44.44). Sophomore righthanded pitcher Bryan Hoeing was victorious in the tire flip with a time of 59.55 seconds, while freshmen infielders Logan Wyatt (1:00.41) and Jake Snider (1:00.49) followed closely.
The final day of the opening week of competition started with the basketball shooting medley, won by the Black Team. The Red Team answered with a victory in the bike race to close Tuesday's schedule.
Following this week's Thanksgiving holiday break, the competition will resume Monday with the dodgeball and truck push events. The 2016 Omaha Challenge will conclude Tuesday with the 100-meter swim and the medley. Following the conclusion of the six days of competition, team and individual winners will be crowned by Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell.
OMAHA CHALLENGE TEAMS
Henzman is joined on the Black Team by Michael Bollmer, Gabe Burchell, Noah Burkholder, Austin Clemons, Chandler Dale, Austin Dickey, Adam Elliott, Devin Hairston, Bryan Hoeing, Shane Hummel, Justin Lavey, Daniel Little, Colin Lyman, Matthew McCarty, Brendan McKay, J.D. Mundt, Danny Oriente, Phillip Sanderson, Ethan Stringer, Mac Welsh and Adam Wolf. Joining Ellis on the Red Team is Nick Bennett, Sam Bordner, Colby Fitch, Daniel Fischer, Tyler Fitzgerald, Devin Mann, Rabon Martin, Michael McAvene, Kade McClure, Zeke Pinkham, Pat Rumoro, Shay Smiddy, Jake Snider, Jake Sparger, Josh Stowers, Hunter Sullivan, Ryan Summers, Logan Taylor, Riley Thompson and Logan Wyatt.
ABOUT THE OMAHA CHALLENGE
Soon after being hired to lead the Cardinals, McDonnell introduced an intense test of physical and mental stamina during his first fall at the University of Louisville with what he refers to as the Omaha Challenge. Two captains are selected and teams are drafted to compete against one another in a series of events across six days testing the athleticism of the teams and the individuals, with a team crown and an individual champion to be named at the conclusion. Sports performance coach Zach Farrel oversees the intense competition, while also motivating his charges to extend themselves to their limits.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
Â
