Wallace's pitching greatness on full display in final act with Inland Lakes baseball

INDIAN RIVER – Just a few days before returning to the mound, Connor Wallace was on a senior trip in Chicago.

So, perhaps a little rust might’ve been shown from the Inland Lakes star pitcher, who hadn’t tossed a competitive game in exactly a week.

But, when you’re as locked in as Wallace usually is, everything comes back quickly. On Friday, Wallace was at his best, tossing a six-inning no hitter with 10 strikeouts in a 3-0 victory over Mancelona.

“A week’s a long time to be off the bump, but we always have good practices,” Wallace said. “I feel like I throw three or four times a week, so we’re always well prepared going into a game."

The performance was another memorable outing in the career of a player who’s presently establishing himself as one of the all-time Inland Lakes greats. Wallace, a two-time first team all-stater in Division 4, has arguably never looked better on the mound than he has during his senior season, which has seen him register an 8-0 record, a 0.400 earned run average and an average of 9.5 strikeouts per game as of last week.

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“That ultimate competitor comes out in me in games,” Wallace said. “Another thing is always to relax and have fun, never put too much pressure on yourself, because when you put too much on yourself, that’s when baseballs will find you. When you relax and do your thing, you’ll be good.”

Rising to the top with I-L baseball has been a hard-working journey for Wallace, who’s been helped by not only his current teammates and coaches, but even former players, including some family members.

“Playing with my brother (Cam) was awesome my freshman year,” Wallace said. “I had a ton of fun playing with my stepbrother Kaden (Hansel). Mason Blumke, Austin Brege, they’ve always made it a blast to play baseball. It’s always been a super fun environment."

Speaking of family, perhaps nobody has been impressed by Wallace more than Josh Vieau, his uncle and I-L's coach. But make no mistake about it, Vieau expects more out of his nephew than anyone else. As hard as Vieau can be on Wallace at times, he knows greatness when he sees it.

“He’s a special kind of player. They come around once in a lifetime,” Vieau said of Wallace. “He’s a staple of what we’ve built this program around, he’s what we want to build this program around with attitude on and off the field, hard work and holding himself and his teammates accountable.

“He’s right there with the best to ever come through here.”

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Despite working his way to becoming one of I-L's greatest, Wallace still knows there’s something left to accomplish, mainly in the postseason. Together, he and his teammates are hungry to make it happen.

“We had three goals (coming into the season). The first goal was to make it to East Lansing, so we’re hoping to do that this year,” Wallace said. “The second goal was to be one of the best players in Michigan, and the third was to leave a positive impact and leave the program in a better spot. That’s kind of our motto.”

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: Wallace having elite final season with Inland Lakes baseball, but one goal still remains