Former FSU teammates Smith, Tibbs III hit seminal homers on same night

Many miles separate the duo that used to hit back-to-back in the Florida State lineup, but their connection seems to extend beyond that.

Cam Smith and James Tibbs III both knocked their first High-A homers -- and they both went to left-center field -- on Wednesday night. Tibbs' dinger for the Eugene Emeralds was his first as a pro, while Smith's was his first since joining the South Bend Cubs and the seventh of his 23-game career.

Smith, selected 14th overall by the Cubs in July, was the first to hit his milestone with South Bend. Promoted after just 20 days with Myrtle Beach, the Cubs’ No. 8 prospect started hitting homers in his 10th game with the Pelicans and capped his Single-A stint with dingers in six straight.

It took him eight games to display his power at the new level. On Wednesday, he tied the game against Fort Wayne, 1-1, in the sixth inning, sending a 3-1 pitch by right-hander Enmanuel Pinales (Padres) to deep left-center at Parkview Field en route to a 2-1 victory.

The MLB Develops alum is batting .414 with a 1.147 OPS for South Bend.

MLB's No. 93 overall prospect actually was taken one pick before Smith in the Draft, going to the Giants at No. 13. But in the Seminoles batting order, Tibbs used to follow Smith, and he did just that on the night of his first homer as well.

San Francisco's No. 2 prospect has struggled since moving up, batting .080 over 13 games. But in the second inning against right-hander Juaron Watts-Brown, the Blue Jays' No. 20 prospect, Tibbs sent the second pitch he saw out of Nat Bailey Stadium to give the Emeralds a lead they never relinquished in a 10-7 win over Vancouver.

Tibbs is batting .231/.286/.319 in 22 games across two levels.

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Still, Wednesday night gave a glimpse of the power to come, and there will surely be more opportunities to see that from the duo who helped lead Florida State to its first College World Series appearance in five seasons.