LHP Adam Elliott & RHP Luke Smith announce return for 2021 season

Two key pieces of the Louisville Baseball pitching staff will be coming back in 2021 after being granted an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The University of Louisville baseball program received a tremendous boost on Wednesday, as left-handed pitcher Adam Elliott and right-handed pitcher Luke Smith both announced that they would be returning for the 2021 season.

While both are seniors, they are taking advantage of an extra year of eligibility granted by NCAA after the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2020 season just one month into competition.

During his four years at 3rd & Central, Elliott has been a key component of the Cardinals bullpen. The Louisville native has appeared in 67 career games with a 6-3 overall record and two saves. Elliott has 89 strikeouts in 86 innings of work and his career ERA of 1.88 currently ranks third-best in Louisville history.

Coming in as a JUCO transfer after two years at Parkland College, Smith has a career 4.03 ERA at Louisville with a 9-1 record in 22 total appearances and 14 starts. In the 2019 postseason, the Champaign, IL native took the ball vs. Illinois State & Vanderbilt and combined for 17 strikeouts over 16.2 innings pitched. In those two games, he tossed 250 total pitches and surrendered only five earned runs.

Before the 2020 season came to its unceremonious end, Elliott was 1-0 in seven appearances with a 0.87 ERA, allowing just one run in 10.1 innings with 14 strikeouts to 3 walks. Smith was 3-0 in four starts with 18 strikeouts and 4 walks over 23.2 innings pitched

The Cardinals (13-4, 2-1) were ranked as high as the No. 2 team in the country (D1Baseball, Perfect Game) at the time of the season's cancellation. They had previously been tabbed as the preseason No. 1 team in the nation and were also voted by league coaches as the favorite to win the ACC.

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