| JOE SANTORO RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Posted: 3/16/2008John Wallace knows a thing or two about winning. “It’s been a dream come true,” said the Oregon State Beavers junior outfielder and 2005 Reno High graduate. “I couldn’t have asked for more.” Wallace, whose Beavers beat the Wolf Pack 17-10 on Saturday at Peccole Park, collects sports trophies the way the rest of us collect baseball cards and stamps. “Yeah, it has really been kind of surreal,” said Wallace, who was hitless in three at-bats in Nevada’s 10-1 victory on Friday and did not play on Saturday. |
 Courtesy: Oregon State Sports Information |
| Wallace’s amazing run of championships all started in the fall of 2003 when he was a junior quarterback for the Reno Huskies football team. He led the Huskies on an unbelievable seven-game winning streak to finish the season, winning the Class 4A state title at Mackay Stadium. Later that school year, in the spring of 2004, Wallace hit .445 with 63 runs scored as a first baseman to help power the Huskies to the Class 4A state championship at Carson High.Winning two state titles in two sports in the same school year would be enough for most athletes. Wallace, though, was only getting started.
After taking a year off from celebrating at the end of the season, Wallace went to Oregon State. “Nevada recruited me, but Oregon State recruited me hard early on and it was always a dream of mine to play in the Pac-10,” said Wallace, whose father Mike Wallace led the Wolf Pack in hitting at .412 in 1980. Wallace hit .326 in 132 at-bats as an Oregon State freshman in 2006, playing in 47 games. As a sophomore, the left-hander hit .282 in 110 at-bats and 51 games. Both years ended with the Beavers celebrating on the field at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium as College World Series champions. “It’s been amazing,” Wallace said. “It kind of reminded me of when we won state (in baseball) down in Carson. I didn’t think anything could feel that good, but the last two years have been incredible.” Wallace, who is hitting .343 in 12 games, has played a significant role in the Beavers’ two College World Series titles. In the two College World Series combined, he hit .310 (13-for-42) with two triples and five RBIs. “In the first one, I played the first eight innings in left field and then got pulled from the (championship) game, so I got to run out of the dugout when we won,” Wallace said. “But last year I was in left field in the final game and got to sprint to the pile in the infield.” Wallace says it is still difficult for him to believe that he has won back-to-back College World Series titles. “It’s hard enough to explain what it feels like to win one,” Wallace said. “But when you win two. Like I said, it’s surreal. It’s only now starting to sink in more and more.” The Beavers have struggled a bit this season, winning just seven of their first 13 games. The past three years, after all, have produced an overall record of 145-46 and three consecutive trips to Omaha. “This year it’s a new team,” said Wallace, who is a cousin of Wolf Pack freshman Joe Wallace. “We have a lot of new players. We’re young but if we continue to work hard we can make it happen.” The 6-foot, 200-pound Wallace is off to a solid start this year. His 0-for-3 game against the Pack on Friday ended his hitting streak at five games. Wallace, though, has already hit more home runs this season (two) than he hit over his first two seasons (one) in Corvallis. In consecutive games against Georgia on Feb. 29 and March 1, he was 5-for-7 with a home run and a double. “I’m seeing the ball well,” Wallace said. “Hopefully I can keep it rolling.” Wallace certainly isn’t willing to predict a three-peat at the College World Series this June. But, he did admit, he’s become accustomed to celebrating with his teammates at the end of a season. “I can’t really imagine not being in Omaha at the end of the year,” he smiled. |
|
