Chants’ Wallace has look, composure of big-time pitcher

CONWAY -- Junior left-hander Austin Wallace is one of many new faces on the Coastal Carolina baseball team this season, but he’s already established himself as one of the more recognizable newcomers to the squad.

That has something to do with the handle-bar mustache that has drawn comparisons from teammates and coach Gary Gilmore to one of Major League Baseball’s more memorable looks.

“It’s outstanding. He’s worked hard at that thing. A left-handed Rollie Fingers,” Gilmore said with a smile, referencing the Hall of Fame relief pitcher.

And so far, Wallace has looked the part on the mound as well.

The 6-foot-2 lefty out of Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois was one of the few bright spots in a mostly forgettable day on the mound for the Chanticleers during their doubleheader Saturday, recording six strikeouts and allowing only one hit in three scoreless innings of relief against Boston College.

Wallace said he’s never really been a big strikeout pitcher, but he was hitting his spots Saturday.

“I felt pretty good afterward. It just gives you the confidence knowing you can compete at this level,” he said.

Wallace said he had quite a few schools closer to home looking at him after last season, but once Coastal expressed interest, it became an easy decision.

“I believe coach Gilmore called up in the Midwest talking to a local area scout asking ‘Have you got any lefties in the area?’ And he gave him my name,” Wallace said. “Coach Gilmore flew up, saw me, liked me. He told me to come down for a visit, and I mean, I’d be stupid to pass up an offer like this. So I came down, loved it and before I even went home, I committed with him and said ‘Absolutely, I’ll come to school here.’ ”

Wallace throws four pitches – a fastball, circle change-up, knuckle curve and slider – and has the polish to make a significant impact right away for Coastal, said pitching coach Drew Thomas.

“He’s an extremely composed JuCo guy,” Thomas said. “Him and [junior righty] Devin Bradley have been two of the most [ready] JuCo guys I’ve had on the pitching staff as far as guys coming in. They’ve been right in the mix, they’ve been with us from the start. You don’t have to worry about what they’re doing. They’ve adapted well to what we’re doing, and I think they’re going to be a huge part the rest of the year.”

As for the mustache, Wallace said it started as part of a “No-Shave November” deal and just progressed from there, with a little encouragement from his teammates.

“So Dec. 1 came around, I just couldn’t bring myself to shave it,” he said. “And then guys were betting me saying ‘You won’t shave that over break.’ I kept it, and people started saying, ‘Why don’t you try going for a Rollie Fingers-type deal.’ And it grew on me figuratively and literally. ... I’m convinced that the handlebars add a couple miles per hour onto your fastball.”

Gilmore finds it amusing and says he and Wallace’s teammates don’t hesitate to give the pitcher a hard time about his signature look.

Said Gilmore: “I was over here the other day in intrasquad, I was offering a reward for anybody that could hit one hard enough off him to straighten it out.”

Injury updates

The prognosis on sophomore center fielder Jacob May’s injured shoulder was not as bad as initially feared, and although it’s a stretch to think he’ll play this weekend, Gilmore expects him back to full strength by the following weekend.

Gilmore didn’t have a technical term for the injury, which May sustained Saturday while colliding with senior right fielder Daniel Bowman in pursuit of a fly ball, but he said it was described to him as “a football-type collision injury.”

“I saw him walk by a few minutes ago, and at least he wasn’t in the sling,” Gilmore said Wednesday before practice. “He had one of those plasma regeneration-type shots in his shoulder yesterday, so I’m assuming it’s better. I don’t know if it will be playable or not. I think it’s moving in the right direction.”

Bowman, meanwhile, tweaked his ankle earlier this week in practice, getting it twisted up while sliding into second base.

“He was walking around OK at the end of last night,” Gilmore said. “... He told me he thought he would try to hit a little bit today. I kind of encouraged him not to and just give it one more day to just see how far we could get.”

On a positive front, junior reliever Ryan Connolly is ready to return to action after taking a line drive off his non-throwing arm last week in practice. Connolly is the most experienced reliever in the Chants’ bullpen and should be a big boost to the young unit.

“He threw yesterday – looked like a million bucks,” Gilmore said.

Pencil them in

Coastal will use the same rotation of starting pitchers this weekend with sophomore right-hander Tyler Herb taking the mound Friday against Iowa, junior righty Josh Conway throwing Saturday against Virginia Tech and freshman lefty Ben Smith taking the hill Sunday against N.C. State.

Herb was sharp in his season debut last Friday, leading the Chants to victory in their season opener while throwing seven innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts and no walks against James Madison. It was his first collegiate win after posting a 4.33 earned-run average with no decisions in 17 appearances as a freshman.

Thomas said the difference with Herb this year is he’s “figuring out that he is pretty good.”

“He’s come from a small town, and I think he might have been a little overwhelmed last year and wondered if he was good,” Thomas said. “He finally understands that, and he’s attacking guys like he did in high school and getting after it.”