University of Connecticut baseball coach Jim Penders was taking a break between fall workouts with his players the other day when he returned a call to discuss the Red Sox acquiring his former closer, Jacob Wallace, from the Rockies as the player to be named later for Kevin Pillar.
“I don’t know if Chaim Bloom was wearing a mask, but that was highway robbery,” Penders said.
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“You can’t ask for a better person,” Penders said. “He’s one of our favorites and would be even if he wasn’t such an outstanding player. He’s completely selfless.”
Wallace, who played at Methuen High, left scholarship money from another school on the table to pay his own way to UConn as a freshman. His fastball was in the mid 80s at the time, but pitching coach Josh MacDonald liked the way the ball came out of his hand.
Wallace’s fastball now sits at 94-95 and climbs to 97.
“He loves high-pressure situations,” Penders said. “His stuff plays. When we played Oklahoma State [in the 2019 NCAA Tournament] they were one of the best offensive teams in the country and he made them look silly.”
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He’s headed to Florida this coming week and will take part in the fall program the Sox will host in Fort Myers.