NEW PALESTINE — Before Grace Lorsung enters the batter’s box, she drops the head of her Easton Ghost and draws a cross.
With two strokes of her 33-inch, 24-ounce bat, she gets set, mentally and spiritually. She turns off her perfectionism, though it can still creep in at times, and immediately goes to work.
The numbers echo the state’s top-ranked catcher’s softball seriousness.
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A .342 hitter as a freshman, followed by a .485 average in 2018, Cathedral’s Lorsung showcased her true potential as a junior with a .616 average.
More of a defensive-minded player in the past, Lorsung, a New Palestine native, has fallen in love with big hits just as much as she has a passion for suffocating pitches before they can ever consider rolling to the backstop.
The 2020 Premier Girls Fastpitch All-American has softball in her blood compliments of her older sister Adison Lorsung, who was an Indiana All-Star outfielder at New Palestine High School under head coach Ed Marcum as a senior in 2015.
Her gravitation towards athletics stems from her mother, Shannon, who played volleyball and basketball and cheered at Greenfield, and her father, Matt, a football player at Lawrence North and the University of Indianapolis.
Adison instilled Grace’s work ethic primarily by her actions and success. Adison, who went on to play softball at Indiana State and later IUPUI, was the watermark for her younger sister.
The journey, however, was entirely paved by Grace, who embraces one firm philosophy. She sets goals, and then she conquers them. And, she does it her way.
“If you know Grace, it’s not just about softball,” Shannon Lorsung remarked on her daughter’s internal drive. “She just has this determination, and I think it comes from that perfectionism she talks about. She has this will to will herself to do whatever needs to be done.”
Grace Lorsung cut her teeth in the New Palestine Youth League and later with the Indy Edge, but unlike her sister, who thrived with the Dragons from 2012-15, she opted to find her own way.
Before her freshman year of high school, that direction led to Cathedral for Grace where Adison considered attending but passed up to stay local.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but it made sense for Grace, who is committed to playing college softball at Indiana University.
“She’s still best friends with (New Pal’s) Maximus Gizzi and Jordan Reid, those are her buddies, and it was hard for her to leave all that, but I think, even at such a young age, she just loved Cathedral,” Shannon Lorsung said. “The thought of going to school like that really sunk in for her, and so she chose to do that.
“That was her way. She said, if she decides to do this, she was going to make it worth her while. She set these goals and she’s obtained every single one of them.”
More than just a softball player, Lorsung had an agenda in mind before she stepped foot on campus at Cathedral.
One, she wanted to be valedictorian. Two, she wanted to play college softball. The third part was a bonus, namely being a 2020 Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year finalist for softball and the 2019 Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year for the state of Indiana.
“Going to Cathedral definitely helped. My sister went to New Pal, and I kind of got to start my new path over at Cathedral since I was the only one in my family to go there,” Grace Lorsung said. “It was a new, fresh start for me. That was cool to experience that.”
Lorsung officially graduates on July 25 as one of 13 valedictorians with a 4.49 GPA on a weighted 4.0 scale. She finished in the top five percent of her graduating class, and the No. 1 ranked catcher with a desire to work at Riley Hospital for Children as an adult.
“My sister had the option to go to Cathedral, and my parents always liked Cathedral, so they gave her the option, and she didn’t want to,” Lorsung said. “It was her choice, but when it was my turn, I wanted to go to Cathedral, and it wasn’t really for softball, clearly. If I wanted to stay for softball, it would have been at New Pal because they’ve won three state titles.”
While Grace Lorsung perfected her game with the Irish, the New Palestine Dragons dominated to win three consecutive Class 3A state championships from 2017-2019.
Cathedral made it to the semistate level twice in the past three years, and Lorsung was eager to see if the Irish could challenge in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic unfortunately ended that dream.
“This year, I thought we were going to state because we had six girls that were going to be seniors that were starting since freshmen year, so we definitely had some experience and some talent on our team,” Lorsung said.
“We made it to semistate the past two years in 4A, and then we got moved down to 3A for this year, but obviously, we didn’t get to play, but we were really excited because we definitely thought we had a shot at making it to state.”
As a consolation, Lorsung has been able to compete with her travel team, the Indiana Magic Gold-Rudd, this summer. Able to return to the field in early June, Lorsung and her teammates have competed in more than 20 games and four tournaments.
A catalyst behind her softball success, her team took third place at the PGF National in Huntington Beach, Calif. in 2017 and 2019, but her time spent with Evan Sharpley, a former quarterback and baseball player at Notre Dame, and with hitting instructor Joe Kriech is what supplied her with some punch.
As a freshman at Cathedral, Lorsung hit two home runs. The next year, she had 11 and reached 12 last year with 16 doubles, 60 RBI and 47 runs scored.
“I went in my junior season wanting to prove myself. My first two years, I did pretty well, but I still definitely had a lot of room to grow. I wanted to improve my game,” Lorsung said. “As the season went on and on, I gained more confidence knowing that when I went up to the plate, I could do it and just hit the ball. I try not to think too much when I go up to bat.”
Her versatility and overall athleticism is what drew IU to recruit Lorsung, who initially committed to Illinois as a freshman. After earning the Johnny Bench award, IU and head coach Shonda Stanton inquired and it sparked the Irish’s three-time MVP’s interest.
Lorsung visited IU during her freshman year, but the fit wasn’t there. The second time around, much like with Cathedral, it was the right choice.
“Grace is a stud behind the plate with a tremendously strong arm. She has the athleticism to play third base as well and will be a force in the heart of the lineup,” Stanton remarked. “Her leadership qualities make her a natural as a field general and she will build a great rapport with out pitching staff.”
In a way, she already is.
Teammates with pitcher Macy Montgomery of Bellmont and with Brooke Benson, an infielder from Fishers, who are both committed to IU, Lorsung is building chemistry with both 2020 signees.
However, her motivation comes from within.
“I’m from New Pal, which is kind of a small town, and it’s awesome to get the recognition I’ve gotten. It’s a big honor. I’ve worked really hard for this, and it’s really cool to really see it pay off in the end,” Lorsung said.
“I’ve kind of always grown up around softball, and my sister played for the Magic, too, when she was my age, so I used to go to her tournaments and see all the college coaches. When I was around 10, I had the goal to play in college. I didn’t really know where exactly, but I just knew I wanted to continue to play.”
Working with former Alabama softball standout Chaunsey Bell, an Indianapolis Lutheran graduate, Lorsung honed her defensive skills. And, in the process found her hidden talent.
When Lorsung isn’t improving her game, she instructs youth players with Bell, much like she did last summer in Cincinnati at the Johnny Bench catching camp prior to her introduction at Great American Ballpark.
“I love working with kids and I love giving lessons because it’s just cool knowing I can share my knowledge with them because they really look up to me,” Lorsung said. “A lot of them are around 9 or 10, so they’re still pretty young but old enough to understand what I’m talking about. They’re like sponges and soak it all up. They’re super fun to be around. It’s a nice break from focusing on my game and a chance to have fun.”
Still, Lorsung remains a kid at heart, especially when she beats her sister in Wii baseball or bowling. Though, Adison continues to win at Mario Kart.
“Honestly, seeing all of (Adison’s) accomplishments and seeing her play in the all-star game and seeing her get all her accolades definitely made we want to do the same thing and try to be the best that I can,” Lorsung said. “It definitely pushed me.”
It’s helped her become an East Team member for the PGF All-American Softball Game that’s schedule to be held next month in Huntington Beach. She will be joined by Indiana’s Gatorade Player of the Year Erin Coffel of Breman, who will head to Kentucky.
From 5-year-old youth player to a future Big Ten competitor, Lorsung is always ready to catch her next opportunity and own it.
“I’m very focal and I love being a leader on the diamond, so being the eyes of the field and seeing every play and getting involved, it’s just an awesome role,” Lorsung said. “It’s very humbling because catchers are basically the workhorse. The pitchers get a lot of the attention and the catchers are doing a lot of work. It’s not made for everyone, but I just love it and stuck with it.”
