Big city draw piques interest for Centreville softball's Lutz

CENTREVILLE — Centreville softball player LilyAnn Lutz knew she wanted to spend the next chapter of her life in a bigger city.

Chicago came to mind. But Lutz wasn't just satisfied with heading off to college in the Windy City, she wanted to pursue an opportunity to play her sport as well.

Enter North Park University.

Lutz said it was a great match for her and now she is looking forward to taking that next step in her life.

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"I just like the bigger city, I wanted to venture out of Centreville," she said. "I like the culture of the school, it's diverse and I met some people who are also coming in and everybody is nice."

But she feels ready.

Softball is the sport of choice for Lutz. She's pretty good at it, too, as evidence by her signing on to continue playing along with her education. She has some reservations, sure, because it's a big step in her life.

"Sure, I'm a little nervous because I'll be moving away and it's a little stressful," she said. "A lot of it will be new because I'm from a small town, but no one there knows me. I can help build a new identity for me and meet new people."

When it comes to playing a position, Lutz said she is just hoping to see the field as early as possible. Comfortability, though, would see her play in the outfield, where she spent quite a bit of time during his innings for travel ball.

She also played quite a bit of infield during her time at Centreville. She said when she was younger she had an interest in learning how to play baseball, so naturally it only made sense to continue with softball as she got older.

Last year, North Park finished with an 11-26 record overall but Lutz and her new teammates are looking to get better.

"It's just my happy place," she said of softball. "I've always loved it. I'm comfortable playing anywhere — other than catcher. I'm really excited to play at the next level. I'm really happy to play the sport I love for the next four years."

In the classroom, Lutz said she plans to study Psychology once she steps foot on campus. Getting solid grades was no issue for her in high school and she knows the workload will increase at the next level, but she is ready for that challenge.

Lutz grew up watching shows like 'Criminal Minds' and 'NCIS' with her grandparents. Both shows spend a lot of time dealing with the psychological part in dealing with criminals from an investigation standpoint. Each of those were important in her continued growth of wanting to pursue a career in Psychology.

She will miss the tight-knit community from Centreville. She'll miss the interactions daily with her teachers and friends, but she will always carry those cherished memories with her.

"Being from such a small town, giving back is what we're all based on and I want to continue to give back in someway," she said. "I'll miss how tight the community is, everyone is so nice. And kind, nice people will always be there to help you."

Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Big city draw piques interest for Centreville softball's Lutz