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Inland Lakes standout Wallace was named the Cheboygan Tribune’s 2024 Baseball Player of the Year

INDIAN RIVER – It was a cold April day in Plymouth.

Inland Lakes’ Connor Wallace was just a 14-year-old freshman at the time, getting his feet wet at the varsity baseball level as a right fielder in the season opener for the Bulldogs.

A few days later, with the Bulldogs trailing Petoskey, he took the mound for the first time in his high school career.

And it went pretty well.

“The nerves were through the roof,” Wallace recalled. “It’s a big deal, something you’ve heard all your little league days is making the varsity team and all that. (Pitching against Petoskey) gave me some confidence.”

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Since then, it’s been a fascinating and successful journey for Wallace, who has used hard work, dedication and resilience to fuel 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 the Bulldogs to Ski Valley Conference and district three-peats.

Thanks to a successful final season, Wallace was named 2024 Baseball Player of the Year by the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.

During his final campaign pitching for the Bulldogs, Wallace was 13-2 with a .479 earned run average, 144 strikeouts and 26 hits allowed. When called up, Wallace was impressive despite tough competition, including postseason wins over Gaylord St. Mary and East Jordan.

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However Wallace’s career panned out, it wasn’t without some setbacks, as his freshman season was cut short after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that required surgery. But Wallace returned in a big way the following season, earning Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association (MHSBCA) Division 4 all-state first-team honors.

“After that injury, coming out and being able to perform the way I did, that was a big deal for me,” Wallace said. “All the hard work that went into it, and then coming back even better than I was, that was really exciting.”

Wallace’s pitching wasn’t the only thing that stood out during his exceptional career. What he also prides himself on is being an elite offensive player. Despite a slow start to his senior campaign, Wallace rebounded to bat .429 with 42 hits, 18 RBIs and 46 runs scored. He’s batted well above .500 for his career. Combined with sensational pitching, it’s allowed Wallace to earn first-team all-state accolades three years in a row.

“Obviously pitching is 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. “Hiccuping is a big mental deal, you have to be mentally strong in the penalty area. The great thing about baseball is that the people who work the hardest will stand out.”

Next up for Wallace is Grand Rapids Community College, the program he signed with in April. While he loved everything about Inland Lakes, he’s excited for the chance to make a name for himself at a higher level.

“The closer it gets, the more excited I am,” Wallace said. “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. To be the northern guy on the team, the only one, I’m really proud of that, so it’s going to be super awesome to be able to do that.

“I want to show everyone what baseball is like up north.”

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

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