Smiddy wins medley and tire flip to clinch second Omaha Challenge title; Hoeing earns runner-up finish
By: Garett Wall
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Junior righthanded pitcher Shay Smiddy clinched his second straight individual title while leading the Red Team to a victory in the University of Louisville baseball team's 13th annual Omaha Challenge.
Smiddy won the tire flip last week before concluding the five days of competition with a victory in Tuesday afternoon's medley for a total of 270 points overall. Senior righthanded pitcher Bryan Hoeing earned a second-place finish with 261 points, while freshman infielder Andrew Benefield was third with 254 points. Freshman infielder/outfielder Alex Binelas was fourth with 250 points and freshman righthanded pitcher Kerry Wright rounded out the top five with 237 points.
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Two-time Omaha Challenge winner Shay Smiddy
In the team race, the Red Team, led by captain Michael McAvene, closed with 3,780 points to defeat the 3,694 points for the Black Team, which was captained by Hoeing. Joining McAvene and Smiddy on the triumphant Red Team was Carter Lohman, Justin Lavey, Jack Perkins, Ben Metzinger, Henry Davis, Drew Campbell, Jared Poland, Alex Binelas, Michael Kirian, Zeke Pinkham, Austin Dickey, Jake Snider, Cameron Masterman, Luke Smith, Gavin Sullivan, Ethan Stringer, Logan Wyatt, Zach Britton and Adam Elliott. Competing with Hoeing on the Black Team was Bobby Miller, Nick Bennett, Lucas Dunn, Reid Detmers, Gabe Burchell, Trey Leonard, Brody Heil, Kerry Wright, Ben Bianco, Andrew Benefield, Timmy Borden, Chris Seng, Tyler Fitzgerald, J.R. Langworthy, Garrett Schmeltz, Danny Zimmerman, Pat Rumoro, Jake Rosing, Danny Oriente, Glenn Albanese and J.D. Mundt.
Smiddy clinched the 2018 individual title by winning the medley event for the third straight season. The Defiance, Ohio native completed the grueling course in a time of 5:42.14, more than 14 seconds faster than second-place finisher Hoeing, who was the only other competitor to finish under six minutes after registering a time of 5:56.77. Smiddy's first victory of the Omaha Challenge came in the tire flip on Nov. 20 with his time of 1:05.52 narrowly defeating Hoeing's time of 1:06.08.
The 2018 Omaha Challenge opened on Nov. 16 with the back squat testing, won by the Black Team, and the bike race, won by the Red Team. The competition continued on Nov. 19 with freshman catcher Ben Metzinger winning the shuttle run (8:04.60), sophomore outfielder Trey Leonard taking the 400-meter race (56.69) and junior outfielder Jake Snider claiming the towel hang (2:24.17). The first week concluded on Nov. 20 with Smiddy's win in the tire flip.
After pausing the competition for the Thanksgiving holiday, action resumed Monday (Nov. 26) with the Red Team winning the tug-o-war and dodgeball events and the Black Team earning a win in the truck push. The final day of competition started with junior righthanded pitcher Luke Smith winning the 100-meter swim in a time of 1:18.33 before Smiddy ended the day with his victory in the medley.
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. 5. Following a break for the Holidays, classes resume on Jan. 7 for the spring semester and the Cardinals will conduct their first official, full-squad practice session for the 2019 season on Jan. 25.
 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 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.
2019 LOUISVILLE BASEBALL SEASON TICKETS
After one season of ticketed admission for all home games, the Cardinals are giving free admission back to the fans in 2019. Louisville's 15 ACC games as well as non-conference games against UK and Vanderbilt will be ticketed events at Jim Patterson Stadium. All other non-conference matchups, including games against Ole Miss, Western Kentucky and Xavier, will have free admission.
The 2019 reserved chairback ticket packages, which include one ticket to each of the 17 ticketed games, are priced at $110 for adults, $90 for senior adults/youths and $90 for families of four or more. Season tickets for the Left Field Berm are also available at $50 per ticket. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online here, by calling 502-GO-CARDS or by visiting the Louisville Cardinals Ticket Office, located near Gate 2 at Cardinal Stadium (2800 South Floyd Street) on weekdays from 9 a.m., until 5 p.m., ET. Complete details on 2019 UofL baseball tickets can be found at gocards.com/bsbtickets.
 FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at @UofLBaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
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