Illiana Christian’s Luke Smith didn’t hit a home run during the regular season.
Apparently, the junior center fielder was saving them for the playoffs.
“I guess I’m getting hot again,” Smith said with a wide smile. “I don’t want to jinx it, though.”
Smith homered for the second straight game on Saturday afternoon, hitting a two-run shot in the second inning to help Illiana Christian beat Wheeler 8-1 in a Class 2A regional championship game at the Steel Yard in Gary.
The two-time defending state champion Vikings (19-9), who advance to the semistate semifinals on June 8, added four runs in the third to increase an early lead it didn’t relinquish, while Wheeler (13-13) scored its only run off sophomore Tanner Post in the third on a sacrifice fly by senior outfielder Lucas McNamara. Post, who struck out seven, took a no-hitter into the fifth before allowing two hits over seven innings to earn the win.
Smith’s homer came five days after he hit one during Illiana Christian’s victory against North Newton in the sectional final and quickly cured the pregame blues he was feeling on a dreary, rainy day when multiple other games involving local teams were postponed.
“Before the game, I wasn’t feeling so good,” Smith said. “But I came out on my first at-bat, did that and had my zone set after that. I started attacking early and attacking often. It worked out pretty good, I’d say.”
That home run was Smith’s only hit, although he flew out to deep center in the fourth and to the warning track in left in the sixth, indicative of the power he displayed with his towering blast that cleared the tall fence that’s 320 feet away in left.
“I knew it was gone when I hit it,” he said. “I don’t want to be the guy who thinks it’s gone and flips the bat and then it hits the wall. That one, I did jog a bit, though.”
Illiana Christian catcher Aaron Gouwens, left, congratulates pitcher Tanner Post for his defensive play in the second inning of the Class 2A regional game against Wheeler at the Steel Yard in Gary on Saturday, June 1, 2024. (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)
Smith’s power came from the bottom of Illiana Christian’s order — right where coach Jeff VanderWoude likes having him.
“He can hit for power. He can bunt. He can run,” VanderWoude said. “He does all of those things. That’s why we like having him there. He’s versatile, and he’s getting hot at the right time.”
Smith’s recent surge has continued his roller-coaster ride of a season. He bounced around the bottom of the order and also had a brief stint as the leadoff hitter before settling into the ninth spot toward the end of the regular season. His results at the plate have been similarly inconsistent too.
“At the beginning of the year, it was all walks,” Smith said. “The middle of the year, I struggled a little bit and changed my stance. I got hot, then I got cold again.”
He has warmed up in the postseason, though, and VanderWoude attributed that recent success to improved results during practice.
“Our approach in the cage at practice is hard line drives and hard ground balls,” VanderWoude said. “Earlier in the year, he was getting under balls, and they’d just hang in the air and be routine fly balls. With him concentrating on what he’s doing and swinging with purpose every time he’s up there, now he’s getting backspin fly balls that keep going.”
Illiana Christian’s Luke Smith, right, is congratulated after hitting a home run in the second inning of the Class 2A regional game against Wheeler at the Steel Yard in Gary on Saturday, June 1, 2024. (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)
Post said Smith’s power from the bottom of the lineup is not a surprise.
“We can hit home runs at No. 1 or at No. 9 in our lineup. It doesn’t matter,” Post said. “That’s just who he is.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
