Andrew Smart, the son of Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart, showed out on Friday, smashing a solo home run over the right-centerfield wall to help keep Oconee County Little League alive in the Southeast Region Tournament.
Trailing 0-1 with one out in the bottom of the first inning, Smart took the 3-1 pitch deep and proudly pounded his chest as he rounded the bases, attempting to fire up his teammates.
Kirby Smart’s son Andrew just went deep in a Little League World Series Regional
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 2, 2024
Oconee County ultimately secured the victory, defeating South Carolina’s Irmo Little League by a score of 8-6.
Smart, who is a right-handed pitching prospect in the Class of 2030, also tossed 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Thursday’s loss to North Carolina, but didn’t factor into the decision.
The home run and bounce-back performance on Friday was witnessed by Smart’s mother, Mary Beth, who was in the stands cheering on her son. He, along with his siblings, are a source of pride in the Smart household.
“I’m awful proud of all my kids . . . and I got to spend a lot of time in recent last month with them,” Kirby Smart said this week, via the Athens Banner-Herald. “I appreciate that time that we get away. You don’t get it back. People have told me over and over, they’re going to be gone before you know it. They’re going to be out of the house, and you’re going to be wishing you had done more. I don’t want to have any regrets. I spent a lot of time with them over the last month, really.”
Thanks, in part, to Smart’s Friday home run, Oconee County Little League has lived to fight another day and will play in the losers bracket at 1:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday.
