Keith Wallace Delivers Heroics for Bishop Eustace Baseball

Everything seemed to be working against Keith Wallace and his Bishop Eustace teammates in the South Jersey, Non-Public A tournament Tuesday.

The heat shimmered over the infield, and dust swirled up from a pitcher’s mound that only lacked a saguaro cactus, as Wallace, a West Deptford native, sat locked a war of attrition with Monsignor Donovan lefty Adam Holowienka—and Holowienka didn’t appear to be running out of bullets.

The Crusaders couldn’t find any pop at the plate, and a handful of baserunning gaffes left them with just a single run late.

Worse yet, though Wallace had been able to pitch his way out of jams—getting around back-to-back hits to start the third and back-to-back hits in the sixth—a couple of goofy plays in the outfield, including a home run that bounced off the glove of center fielder Alex Tafaro and over the fence, left Eustace in a 2-1 hole late.

But something happened in the bottom of the sixth.

Maybe Holowienka finally tired.

Maybe the Crusaders finally deciphered the Rosetta stone for the southpaw’s mix of pitches.

Whatever it was, a door was suddenly open, and after freshman Nick Browne smashed a home run just shy of Route 70, Wallace found himself up at the plate, with a shot to not only redeem a pair of hitless at-bats earlier in the game, but to take the pressure off himself going into the final frame.

Two pitches were all it took.

A belt-high fastball came in, and Wallace took it out, launching an arc high over left field and into the tree line for the game-winning solo shot, a hit that was only missing exploding stadium lights for how clutch it was.

“It felt great to be able to get that kind of hit,” said Wallace, who wasn’t even sure it could clear the deep left-field fence when it left his bat. “It’s always fun to be able to get your team to the next round.”

The seventh inning was a mere formality after that; Wallace’s breaking stuff had baffled the Griffins’ hitters all afternoon, and a strikeout and two groundouts later, it was all over.

“He just took matters into his own hands…and gave us a shot,” head coach Sam Tropiano said. “We know he’s a hitter, but that was a storybook ending.”

It was about as good an effort as you could ask for from a pitcher on short rest—Wallace threw 99 pitches against Paul VI last week to get the Crusaders started in the playoffs—as the senior struck out seven and didn’t walk a single Griffin batter.

“They don’t come any better than this kid—he’s the complete package,” Tropiano said. “He’s just a bulldog—he just finds a way to win.”

It was a steady diet of breaking balls that got it done for Wallace on the afternoon, as he changed speeds almost constantly and mostly used his fastball to get the Griffins to chase pitches out of the zone.

“The off-speed stuff was good today,” he said. “I managed to keep us in it long enough to win.”

The bad news, if there was any, is that Wallace is now ineligible to pitch in the next round, barring a rainout.

And of course, the Crusaders’ old nemesis, Gloucester Catholic, looms once again, in the way of their shot at the South Jersey final.

While Wallace might prefer to take the mound as the ace against the Rams, he knew his team was counting on him to get past Monsignor Donovan, which had upset top seed Notre Dame.

“You’ve got to win today,” he said.

The senior said he’s confident the Crusaders’ pitching staff can hang with the Rams, and if the team can take advantage of their opportunities, a win could be in the offing.

“If we play our game, we should be all right,” Wallace said.