INDIAN RIVER – It was a cold April day in Plymouth.
Just a 14-year-old freshman at the time, Inland Lakes’ Connor Wallace was getting his feet wet at the varsity baseball level as a right fielder during the season opener for the Bulldogs.
A few days later, while the Bulldogs were trailing against Petoskey, he took the mound for the first time in his high school career.
And things went rather well.
“The nerves were through the roof,” Wallace recalled. “It’s a big deal, something you’ve been told about your whole little league days is making the varsity team and whatnot. (Pitching against Petoskey) gave me some confidence.”
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Since then, it’s been a fascinating and successful journey for Wallace, who’s used hard work, dedication and resiliency to fuel him to one of the best careers in Inland Lakes history. In his final season this spring, Wallace was as good as he’s ever been, helping propel the Bulldogs to Ski Valley Conference and district three-peats.
Because of a huge senior season, Wallace is the Cheboygan Daily Tribune’s 2024 baseball player of the year.
During his final campaign as a pitcher for the Bulldogs, Wallace was 13-2 with a 0.479 earned run average, 144 strikeouts and 26 hits allowed. When called upon, Wallace was impressive against tough competition, including postseason triumphs over Gaylord St. Mary and East Jordan.
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As well as Wallace’s career went, it didn’t come without some adversity along the way, as his freshman season was cut short after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that required surgery. But Wallace returned in a huge way the following season, earning Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association (MHSBCA) Division 4 all-state first team honors.
“Coming off that injury, coming out and being able to perform how I did, that was a big deal to me,” Wallace said. “All the hard work going in, and then to come back even better than what I was before, that was really exciting.”
Wallace’s pitching wasn’t the only thing that stood out during his exceptional career. What he’s also taken a ton of pride in is being an elite offensive player. Despite a slow start to his senior campaign, Wallace recovered and batted .429 with 42 hits, 18 RBI's and 46 runs scored. For his career, he hit well over .500. Combined with sensational pitching, it’s allowed Wallace to earn all-state first team accolades three years in a row.
“Obviously pitching is kind of my thing, and I’m going to the next level to do it, but there’s a lot of work on the hitting side as well,” Wallace said. “Hitting’s a big mental deal, you’ve got to be mentally strong in the box. The thing about baseball is the people who work the hardest are going to stand out.”
Next up for Wallace is Grand Rapids Community College, the program he signed with back in April. While he’s loved everything about Inland Lakes, he’s thrilled for a chance to make a name for himself at a higher level.
“The closer it gets, the more excited I am,” Wallace said. “The coach and I have been talking, my roommates and I have been talking down there, the college guys on the baseball team, we’re all super excited. Being able to be the up-north guy on the team, the only one, I take a lot of pride in that, so to be able to do that is going to be super awesome.
“I want to show everybody what up north baseball is like.”
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Hard work, dedication fueled 2024 Daily Tribune baseball player of the year Connor Wallace
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