Los Osos graduate Austin Lorenz spent Thursday morning going through orientation at Mt. SAC. The left-handed pitching standout had a few offers from four-year colleges but none were from programs he found to be a good fit.
Later that day everything changed. Lorenz is now headed to NCAA Division II Colorado-Mesa.
He had been talking to that school and had visited in May but it wasn’t until that day things were finalized.
Among the other schools he was considering were UC Davis, Westmont, University of Redlands and Naval Academy.
“I was going to go there (Mt. SAC) for a year and then re-apply at Naval Academy,” Lorenz said. “I texted the Mesa coach one last time and asked if there was anything final and he told me to call him that night. That’s how it all worked out.”
Lorenz was the top pitcher for the Grizzlies (17-11). He went 7-2 with a 2.31 ERA in 11 appearances with 51 strikeouts in 58 innings. He was the starter and winning pitcher when the Grizzlies defeated CIF champion Etiwanda. It was the Eagle only loss in Baseline League play.
Lorenz was a first-team All-Baseline League selection and a second-team All-Inland Valley selection by the Daily Bulletin.
He plans to major in kinesiology and Mesa’s academic program in that field was one of the factors in the decision.
“It had that small-town feel to it and I really liked that,” Lorenz said. “The college is the center of everything there.”
Colorado-Mesa went 50-12 overall last season and won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at 32-4. The Mavericks lost in the Division II national semifinal to West Chester 1-0. The 50 wins in a season was a school record.
