Louisville Cardinals pitcher Luke Smith brought the passion and the heat to the College World Series on Friday night.
Smith was the starter as the Cardinals needed to beat Vanderbilt twice to advance to the CWS finals. He put together an excellent showing, holding the Commodores to one run through eight innings. After striking out Vandy’s Julian Infante to end the top of the eighth, Smith dropped a few F-bombs.
THAT MAN LUKE SMITH AINT PLAYIN AROUND TONGHT PEOPLE!!! pic.twitter.com/IRoaVz6XaG
— Dimitri Kourtis (@D_Kourtis27) June 22, 2019
And here’s the closeup of what he said:
Lip readers: What you got? pic.twitter.com/ZLYOPzjBTn
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 22, 2019
That was Smith’s 10th strikeout of the game, and he had a 2-1 lead at that point. Unfortunately for him, things came apart in the ninth. He got a groundout to start the inning and then issued a walk and allowed a run-scoring double to tie the game. He was lifted for closer Michael McAvene, who gave up two more hits to give Vandy a 3-2 lead.
Vanderbilt won 3-2 and advanced to the finals to face Michigan, which also went 3-0 to win its bracket.
This was Smith’s first appearance since beating Illinois State in the regionals on June 2. It was probably his best game of the season, and easily the most memorable. He also owned it too after the game, commenting on his profane celebration prior to losing.
Luke Smith: “I respect Vanderbilt … I celebrate a strikeout… They celebrated big hit in ninth. That’s how it goes.”
— Adam Sparks (@AdamSparks) June 22, 2019
