CHAD HARTLEY
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 6/17/2006
John Wallace is ready to help his Oregon State teammates take care of unfinished business.
Last year at this time, Wallace was taking part in graduation ceremonies at Reno High School, and Oregon State was just happy to be at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., for the first time. The Beavers quickly lost two games and went home.
Now, Oregon State is back in Omaha with a new focus, and Wallace played a part in the Beavers’ 44-14 season and return trip to the College World Series. Oregon State will take on Miami (41-22) today at 4 p.m.
“The guys who were on the team last year, they are ready to go,” Wallace said Friday in a telephone interview. “They want to stay longer. I want to help this team go as far as we can. But at the same time, I am trying to take everything in. Getting to Omaha, this is a dream for me.”
Wallace got thrown into the fire as a freshman this year when Beavers star center fielder Tyler Graham went down with an injury. He played in 40 of the Beavers’ 58 games and is third in hitting at .337. He scored 22 runs, drove in 17 and stole four bases this season.
“I didn’t know what to expect this year but I got a chance to start when Tyler got hurt and I did a pretty good job with that opportunity,” Wallace said. “Making the adjustment to this level is tough because the game is faster and the competition is better. But it is still the same game. I’m pretty happy with my first year.”
Now, Wallace and Oregon State will see how long that year will last. Today against the Hurricanes, the left-handed hitting Wallace isn’t expecting to start because Miami is starting a left-hander on the mound. But he could get a pinch-hitting opportunity and expects to start as the team’s designated hitter later in the tournament.
With Graham back in the lineup for the Beavers, Wallace has seen a lot of time at DH, which has been a positive and a negative.
“Being a freshman and making the adjustment to this level, it has been nice because I only have to focus on one thing during a game,” he said. “But it can hurt you, too. If you are having a bad day at the plate, you don’t have the chance to go out there and make up for it on defense. You just spend all your time in the dugout stewing about your last at-bat.”
Wallace said he’s been fielding congratulatory calls from old high school teammates and friends all week. Reno High coach Pete Savage called Friday morning to wish him good luck.
“All of those calls have been great,” Wallace said. “Coach Savage, he just told me to stay focused and enjoy myself.”
Wallace admitted that the experience has been “overwhelming” so far. The Beavers hosted an NCAA Regional and Super Regional before going to Omaha this week.
“(Thursday night), they had opening ceremonies at the ballpark and we are out there on the field with 20,000 people screaming in the stands and it was just the opening ceremonies,” he said. “That was just awesome. I can’t really describe the feeling. This is just the thrill of a lifetime.”
He said his parents, grandparents, an aunt and uncle and some family friends made the trip to Omaha.
“I have a lot of support here, and the guys on the team who were here last year, they have told me what to expect,” Wallace said. “This experience, this is why I came here.
“I think we have really good chance. We have great pitching and we play solid defense. If our bats get fired up like they did during Regionals, I think we have a good shot.”