Julia Wallace knows every at-bat is an important one.
“Before I go up to bat, when I’m on deck, I pray,” said Wallace, a senior at Wildwood Catholic Academy. “When I get up to the plate, I make the Sign of the Cross. It’s not a specific prayer. I just thank God for getting me here, and I ask him for help. It calms me down.”
Through her first eight softball games this year, Wallace was swinging one of the hottest bats in the state, hitting .808 (21-for-26) with an on-base percentage of .839. Six of her hits were for extra bases, and she drove in 19 runs in that span. She hadn’t recorded an out until the fifth game of the season, going 13-for-13 in her first four games. It’s the kind of tear you don’t often see in high school softball.
Plus, it might not even be her best attribute. Wallace has played shortstop for the Crusaders since she was a freshman and is often dazzling in the field.
“It wasn’t even a tough decision to start her there,” Wildwood Catholic coach TJ Johnson said. “And she’s been hitting in the middle of our lineup. I don’t even know what’s better, her bat or her glove.”
He continued, “Defensively, she’s a superstar. She makes all the plays out there. She’s really held it together for us.”
Although Wallace packs a busy extracurricular school schedule between National Honors Society, the executive board for student council, yearbook club and prom committee, she still found time to work on her softball skills over the winter, while also swimming for Wildwood Catholic.
“I have an intensity this year that I feel like I haven’t had before,” Wallace said. “All the hard work throughout the winter and fall seasons has started to really pay off. I’ve had confidence, and I have my girls behind me. We have a great team this year.”
Wallace didn’t even start playing softball until she was 12. Growing up in Somers Point, there weren’t many youth softball opportunities, so Wallace played baseball and hockey recreationally. She turned her attention to softball and learned under former NJ Gators coach Todd Cimino, who is now coaching the PA Chaos 16-U national team.
“It all started when I began playing travel ball with coach Todd Cimino,” Wallace said. “He’s an amazing coach. I’d go to him during the winters to work on my fielding.”
Next year, she’ll go to the College of New Jersey, where she will play softball for the Lions while studying biology to pursue her lifelong dream.
“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor since I was little,” Wallace said. “So I’ll be going to medical school after college, hopefully. I want to be an orthopedic surgeon because I want to stick with athletics. I always wanted to be involved in athletics and continue that throughout my life.”
Her immediate dream is to finish her high school softball career on a good note. The Crusaders were a respectable 4-4 through their first eight games.
“I’m proud of everyone,” Wallace said. “Everyone is working really hard at practice … and the hard work is really paying off.”
They have Wallace to lead them through the tough times.
“She’s basically been a leader since she was a sophomore,” Johnson said. “This year, she’s taken a little more of a vocal role because we have a few freshmen. We don’t have a ton of players [about 10 each game]. It’s been up to her to lead the infield and basically become a coach on the field.”
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