Smiddy, Black Team Clinch Omaha Challenge Titles
November 29, 2017 | Baseball
Wolf finishes second to Smiddy while Hoeing, Miller and Conway round out top five
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Sophomore righthanded pitcher Shay Smiddy closed out his first career individual title while also leading the way for the victorious Black Team on the final day of the Louisville baseball team's 12th annual Omaha Challenge on Tuesday.
Smiddy capped the five-day competition with 228 points to finish 20 points clear of junior lefthander Adam Wolf, the 2016 individual champion who scored 208 points to finish second in this year's event. Junior righthander Bryan Hoeing was third with 201 points, freshman righty Bobby Miller was fourth with 194 points and graduate transfer and pitcher Austin Conway rounded out the top five with 191 points.
In the team race, the Black Team, led by captain and junior catcher Pat Rumoro, closed with 3,259 points to finish more than 200 points clear of the 3,040 points for the Red Team, which was guided by captain and junior catcher Zeke Pinkham. Joining Rumoro and Smiddy on the triumphant Black Team was Wolf, 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, Conway, Nick Bennett, Riley Thompson, Cameron Masterman and Glenn Albanese. Competing with Pinkham on the Red Team was Hoeing, Gavin Sullivan, Justin Lavey, Zach Britton, Ethan Stringer, 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.
Tuesday's final event, the medley, was won by Hoeing who covered the course in a time of 2:38.97. Sophomore infielder Logan Wyatt was second with a time of 2:44.12 and senior pitcher Mac Welsh was third at 2:45.94. The last day of competition started early Tuesday morning with the 100-meter swim, won for the third straight year by junior lefty pitcher J.D. Mundt, who registered a time of 55.51 seconds. Sophomore pitcher Stewart Currie was second at 1:04.20 and junior pitcher Liam Jenkins was third at 1:13.63.
The Louisville players returned to competition following the Thanksgiving break with a trio of team scoring events on Monday. The Black Team earned wins in the dodgeball and tug-o-war events, while the Red Team clinched a win in the paintball competition.
The 2017 Omaha Challenge started Nov. 17 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. Action continued on Nov. 20 as Smiddy registered his second individual victory with a triumph in the shuttle run while also leading the Black Team to a win. Later in the day, the Black Team added a win in the truck push.
The final day of the opening week of competition started with the Red Team winning the basketball shooting medley on Nov. 21. 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.
The Omaha Challenge concludes a busy fall semester for Louisville players, who will now look to have a strong finish in the classroom as final exams begin on Dec. 6. Following a break for the Holidays, classes resume on Jan. 8 for the spring semester and the Cardinals will conduct their first official, full-squad practice session for the 2018 season on Jan. 26.
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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