FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Since the day Fairfield junior ace Mike Wallace began throwing a baseball he always had the dream to one day play professional baseball. At 4:06pm today, Wallace got the first feeling of how good that accomplishment would feel. With the 907th pick of the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Wallace in the 30th round. Wallace becomes the first Stags player to be drafted since Mark Bordonaro in 2012.
“It's still surreal, it hasn't settled in yet,” Wallace said. “I can't put the feeling into words right now.”
“It's a great tribute to his hard work and everything he has put in over three years,” Head Coach Bill Currier said. “We saw his ability and his potential and witnessed the way he works, so it's very rewarding to see his hard work getting recognized.”
Wallace was driving on his way to a Perfect Game League Summer League game with teammates Brendan Tracy and Joe Randall when he read Twitter and saw the news.
“We were going insane in the car,” Wallace said. “To share that moment with them and my brother, it's a success for both of us, so to be with them at that time was amazing.”
Wallace, a First-Team All MAAC Pitcher this season, became an innings machine for the Stags, tying for the conference lead with six complete games (a number that was tied for fourth nationally). Wallace led the league in fewest walks allowed per nine innings. For his career, the junior has shown his control on the mound and ranks second in Stags' history allowing just 1.87 walks per nine innings.
In conference games, Wallace was tied for the MAAC lead with 58 innings pitched, was second in wins (five), and was eighth with 39 strikeouts. Among the starting pitchers in the league, Wallace ranked fourth with a 2.64 ERA in conference games.
Wallace is the 13th player in program history to be drafted. His 3.58 career ERA is ranked sixth all-time and his three shutouts is fifth in program history.
“Its always been my dream to be a professional baseball player and I can say that I am now living my dream right now,” Wallace said.
