Munster senior Char Lorenz is all-in for her upcoming softball career at Louisville.
But she’s also preparing for her post-playing future, and she has a pretty clear vision of that.
“I want to be a fertility nurse practitioner,” Lorenz said. “Then I was going to get a real estate license on the side just to have it.
“My mom’s a nurse, and I knew I wanted to be in the nursing area. But I don’t like the idea of having someone else’s life in my hands. Like being an ER nurse, that freaks me out. I’d rather create life than try to sustain it.”
Lorenz was planning to major in nursing but has shifted her focus to exercise science.
“Nursing and softball conflict really badly,” she said. “They want me to do exercise science to get all of the prereqs, and then once I graduate and I’m done with softball, then go into nursing.”
With an eye on what’s next, Lorenz is also focused on the present.
Traditional power Munster (8-9, 2-4) has put together a relatively deceptive record with a challenging schedule and three losses by one run in the Northwest Crossroads Conference. Lorenz and the Mustangs have remained confident with sectionals beginning in less than a month.
“We’re going through a rough patch,” Lorenz said. “It’s definitely not what we were expecting this year. But stuff like that happens. It’s not anything we can’t handle. … Each game, we’re getting better.”
Lorenz, who started at third base in each of the past two years, opened this season at catcher, a position of need for the Mustangs. But she has moved back to third.
Entering Munster’s game against Illiana Christian on Thursday, Lorenz was hitting .400 with 13 RBIs and a team-high 15 stolen bases, numbers slightly off from her previous production.
“Overall, it’s not the best season I could’ve hoped for,” she said. “But I’ve realized it makes me like the sport even more. Each game, I’m improving at something while I’m learning something else that I need to improve on. One game I won’t hit well, but I’ll have a great game fielding.
“I know a lot of people don’t like that. It’s a game of failure. It’s a game where you really have to have a strong mental attitude, and I feel like having high school games where maybe I don’t succeed when I’m ‘supposed to’ or expected to, it makes me prouder of where I am now to be able to accept that and be able to move forward with everything.”
Indeed, Lorenz has maintained perspective.
“Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in everything,” she said. “But it’s nice to just look out and be like, ‘I’m here right now. I’ve been given the opportunities I have, and that’s something I have to be happy for.’ A lot of people don’t even get the privilege to be able to fail and say, ‘You know what? I did my best.'”
Lorenz’s attitude and approach influence the Mustangs.
“She definitely brings a lot of character,” senior outfielder Emily Lyza said. “She has a lot of personality, and she’s the glue of the group. She’s always positive. She always brings people up. Even if it’s a rough game, she’s always up. Me and her are always cheering our heads off even if we’re down. It’s pretty funny.
“She’s definitely determined. She’s very strong-minded and very adaptable because she’s been moving around more this year position-wise than last year. She’s always been positive and up for any challenge she’s been faced with.”
Last season, Lorenz hit .437 with five homers, both team highs, and tied for the team lead with 19 RBIs and eight stolen bases. She earned a spot on the All-State first team.
After having what she called “the game of my life” in an 11-7 win at Hobart in early May 2022, going 3-for-5 with two homers, four RBIs, three runs and a stolen base, Lorenz began feeling sick the next day and struggled for the duration of last season. It wasn’t until after the season, when she was feeling better, that she was diagnosed with mononucleosis.
Lorenz, who hit .422 with three homers, 24 RBIs and a team-high 20 stolen bases as a sophomore, actually has played her entire high school career with a torn ligament in her right wrist. She was advised by doctors to hold off on surgery, given that managing the injury with physical therapy has been working.
Munster coach Jill Perez has continued to be impressed by Lorenz.
“Her reputation precedes her,” Perez said. “Many people come up to me about Char. She’s just remarkable. She has a softball IQ that is through the roof. Her knowledge of the game is so deep, and it’s just incredible to watch her play. She shocks me every day when she makes some sort of play or she’s running the bases.
“Her knowledge of the game elevates everybody because everybody else is starting to pick up on things too. We have a lot of younger players, and they’re learning her ways, which is nice. Her legacy will live on.”
Perez has also appreciated Lorenz taking on those catching responsibilities.
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“We’ve been blessed with catchers in the past, but we really have only one this year,” Perez said. “So Char gets in there, and it’s like ‘Whew.’ She’s throwing people out, doing all of these awesome things. She really helps the pitchers out because she gives them a lot of feedback. She can say, ‘Hey, I can tell what’s going on with this pitch.’ She’s constantly giving feedback to other players.
“It’s awesome to see her back there. I never saw her catch before this year, and she’s been awesome. She’s the true definition of a utility player.”
Lorenz comes from an athletic family. Her father, Fred, played collegiately at Upper Iowa.
“He could’ve gone to the next level, but he was like, ‘I think it’s time to hang up the cleats,'” Lorenz said. “He likes to be humble about it. He’s definitely the most athletic one in the family.”
She added with a laugh, “I hate to admit it.”
Her mother, Pat, a dialysis nurse, competed in gymnastics. Her brother, Chase, graduated in 2014, spending his first two years at Munster before going to IMG Academy for his final two. He went on to Belmont Abbey. Her sister, Michaella, also played softball for the Mustangs and graduated in 2016.
“Out of the siblings — they’re not going to like it — I’m the most athletic,” Lorenz said with another laugh. “I take the cake.”
Lorenz played basketball in each of her first three years at Munster before opting not to play this season.
“I liked basketball,” she said. “It was really fun. But it was also time, after I committed for softball, I wanted to make sure I was dialing in everything I needed to do before college. I wanted to make sure I didn’t get hurt playing a sport I know I’m not going to be pursuing at the next level.
“But it definitely had its benefits. It made me faster, more agile, more explosive. If anyone has the opportunity to play multiple sports, they 100% should.”
Lorenz used her newfound time over the winter to engage in a workout program provided by Louisville. She said she hit four or five days a week, she threw and she did “prehab” in an effort to remain healthy into the summer.
She also attempted to strike a balance.
“A lot of people don’t realize it’s important to take a step back,” Lorenz said. “Once my fall season finished, I gave myself two weeks where I actually got to be a kid again and go hang out with friends. That’s something that’s really important.
“A lot of people think it’s like, ‘Go, go, go.’ But we’re 18 and below. You have to be able to enjoy life. That’s what will help you not get burned out. So I made sure to give myself some time to be myself. Then it was right back to it.”