Smith took five for 56 to help roll Northern Districts for 278 at Cobham Oval in Whangarei.
But the Volts also found batting a challenge and were 270 for eight at stumps on day two.Scott Kuggeleign and Daryl Mitchell have taken three wickets apiece but half centuries from Derek de Boorder and Anaru Kitchen means the game is very much in the balance.
But the 18-year-old from Oamaru has been the story to emerge from the first two days.
"[Smith] has been bowling well for a couple of weeks now so it was nice to see him get a bit of reward for that," Otago coach Rob Walter said.
Walter said the young man picked up some bad habits during the one-day campaign.
"We just needed to do a couple of check points on his action, which he worked on ... so this is really just the cherry on top for what has been going on for the last two weeks."
Jacob Duffy has emerged from bowling boot camp in good health, as well. While he did not take any wickets in his first game since Christmas, he bowled eight maidens in his 20 overs and, most importantly, was swinging the ball again.
The Volts opted to make first use of the surface but had to wait 50 minutes before the first breakthrough.
It was worth the wait, though. Smith swung a delivery back into the left-hander Daniel Flynn and hit him on the boot directly in front of the stumps.But Tim Seifert (97) and Bharat Popli (61) put Otago under pressure with a healthy 115-run partnership. Corey Anderson chopped on second ball to Smith to give the youngster his third.
Wickets four and five were cracking deliveries. Nick Kelly got the inswinging toe-crusher and Kuggeleign had his off stump knocked back.
Left-arm leg spinner Michael Rippon made a good first-class debut for Otago with three for 71. He got rid of Seifert, who was on course for a second first-class century.
But Rippon did not last long at the batting crease. He was out for nine and Otago slumped to 39 for three.
Michael Bracewell scored a patient 45. But de Boorder and Kitchen helped turn the innings around with a stand of 138 for the fifth wicket.
Kitchen had slapped a quick-fire 76 before he got a touch down leg side. De Boorder, who barely made a mistake all day, was closing in on a fourth first-class hundred but got a quick delivery from Kuggeleign that fizzed from the pitch and took the edge.
In the other games, Auckland was 385 for five at stumps on day two of its match with Central Districts at Colin Maiden Park. Colin Munro whacked 146 from 109 balls, while at the Basin Reserve Wellington was 274 for seven against Canterbury with three days remaining. Matt Henry has been the standout with four wickets for 54.
