Cardinals Baseball Completes Week One of Omaha Challenge
November 21, 2017 | Baseball
Black Team and Shay Smiddy set the pace through the first week of action
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The first week of competition in the University of Louisville baseball team's 2017 Omaha Challenge concluded Tuesday with the Black Team leading the way while sophomore pitcher Shay Smiddy held the advantage in the individual race.
Captain Pat Rumoro (junior catcher) and the Black Team closed the opening week with 1,936 points, more than 140 points clear of the 1,795 points for the Red Team, captained by junior catcher Zeke Pinkham. Individually, Smiddy is atop the standings with 148 points for the Black Team, while freshman infielder Lucas Dunn of the Red Team is second with 120 points. Rounding out the top five are junior catcher Gabe Burchell (119 points) from the Black Team, junior pitcher Adam Wolf (118 points) from the Black Team and freshman catcher Zach Britton (114 points) from the Red Team.
The competition started on Friday with the Red Team winning the tire flip and the Black Team taking the bike race. Smiddy earned his first individual event title winning the tire flip with a time of 1:02.12 while junior pitcher Bryan Hoeing (1:02.53) and sophomore infielder Tyler Fitzgerald (1:03.84) were second and third respectively.
Monday's schedule started with the morning shuttle run as Smiddy registered his second individual victory while leading the Black Team to a win as well. Smiddy finished in a time of 8:28.10 and was followed by sophomore pitcher Nick Bennett (8:34.30) and freshman outfielder Trey Leonard (8:38.61). In the second event of the day, the Black Team was victorious in the truck push.
The final day of the opening week of competition started with the Red Team winning the basketball shooting medley on Tuesday morning. The basketball medley was followed by the towel hang as freshman infielder Thomas Josten led the Red Team to a win by pacing the way in the individual event. Josten had a time of 1:16.33 to narrowly edge sophomore infielder Jake Snider (1:16.32), while Smiddy (1:15.42) finished third.
Following this week's Thanksgiving holiday break, the competition will resume Monday with the dodgeball and tug-o-war events. The 2017 Omaha Challenge will conclude Tuesday, Nov. 28 with the 100-meter swim and the medley. Following the conclusion of the five days of competition, team and individual winners will be crowned by Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell.
OMAHA CHALLENGE TEAMS
Pinkham is joined on the Red Team by Bryan Hoeing, Gavin Sullivan, Justin Lavey, Zach Britton, Ethan Stringer, Bobby Miller, Devin Mann, Adam Elliott, Logan Wyatt, Rabon Martin, Thomas Josten, Ben Bianco, Brody Heil, Lucas Dunn, Tyler Fitzgerald, Michael Kirian, Michael McAvene, Noah Burkholder and Jake Snider. Competing with Rumoro on the Black Team is Adam Wolf, Shay Smiddy, J.D. Mundt, Mac Welsh, Stewart Currie, Reid Detmers, Danny Oriente, Drew Campbell, Josh Stowers, Liam Jenkins, Trey Leonard, Gabe Burchell, Sam Bordner, Matthew McCarty, Austin Dickey, Austin Conway, Nick Bennett, Riley Thompson, Cameron Masterman and Glenn Albanese.
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.
2018 LOUISVILLE BASEBALL SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2018 Louisville baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online at GoCards.com/bsbtickets, by calling 502-GO-CARDS or by visiting the Louisville Cardinals Ticket Office, located near Gate 2 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (2800 South Floyd Street) on weekdays from 9 a.m., until 5 p.m.
Reserved chairback ticket packages are priced at $150 for adults (less than $4.50 per game), $120 for senior adults/youth (less than $4 per game) and $480 for a Family 4-Pack (less than $4 per game per ticket). Season tickets for the Left Field Berm are also available at $100 for adults (less than $3 per game), $80 for senior adults/youth (less than $2.50 per game) and $320 for a Family 4-Pack (less than $2.50 per game per ticket).
Single game tickets for the 2018 season will be priced at $10 for reserved chairback and $5 for berm and will be available for purchase at a later date. Season ticket packages include all regular season home games at Jim Patterson Stadium with the exception of the annual Elementary School Day game, played each March during a weekday afternoon. For Elementary School Day, season tickets will provide admission to the game but will not include a reserved seat.
With a listed capacity of 4,000, Jim Patterson Stadium has hosted six crowds of more than 6,000 fans in the last two seasons, including three in 2017. Fresh off a fourth trip to the NCAA Men's College World Series and third straight ACC Atlantic Division Championship, Louisville baseball has become the must-see event for Cardinals fans in the spring.
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.
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