Baseball | 10/8/2020 3:41:00 PM
Paxton Wallace sprinted 300 yards to a neighbor's house to swim this summer. That quarantine workout routine helped put him back on the baseball field after a back injury benched him last spring.
"Best shape of my life," he said. "I trimmed eight to 10 pounds. They expected me to be a little bit behind, but I'm actually more out front."
Wallace, a junior from Greenbrier, Ark., entered 2020 as one of Wichita State's top returners and a member of the American Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference team. In 2019, he hit .256 with 13 doubles and nine home runs, tied for the team lead. The back injury sidelined him through the spring and summer.
"He's healthy," coach
Eric Wedge said. "It's been a long road for him, but he's moving around well. He gets a little bit better every day, and that's what we're looking for."
The
five-game Shocker Fall World Series starts at 1 p.m. Saturday. The public is invited to the first and fifth (Oct. 17) games. Attendance is limited to 2,000 and admission is free. All games are seven innings and the Shockers will play five, regardless of series record.
Wallace, who plays first and third, expects fans to see a Shocker who is moving more quickly than in the past. The workout routine strengthened his core, lightened his feet and remedied the back issues. He said he is down to 210 pounds. He swam laps and performed squats in the pool to work on core strength.
"Probably the most strict workout routine I've ever been on," he said. "Swimming worked my whole body and, especially for a back injury, it put nothing on my back. It was great to get my legs moving and work that lower back."
The injury motivated Wallace to lock in on the strength and conditioning in a way he hadn't previously.
"Absolutely," he said. "The focus and attention to detail is the most important thing. If you slack off on one thing, that could be the day that something else feels a little off."
On Wednesday, Wedge wrapped up practice with a talk that included reminding the team that they are most responsible for setting the culture around the program. Wallace, last spring, observed that culture growing while rehabbing. Last fall, the Shockers devoted much more time to defense than hitting and it paid off during a 13-2 shortened season.
"It's all about mind-set," Wallace said. "Our team forms that culture. I think we're more strong mentally than we've ever been. It was great to see."
The scrimmage series that starts Saturday is another chance to showcase that mind-set. The Shockers scrimmage often each week. Starting Saturday, the stakes are raised with fans in attendance and scores that matter.
"They've been competing against each other all fall," Wedge said. "This is a little more official, a little more formal and we like to finish it off that way in the fall."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
