The 2019 Washburn baseball season is off and running and several players have contributed out of the gates. Pitching is, of course, key to any team’s success especially the depth in the bullpen. One of the top arms coming out of that bullpen this year is Nathan Lorenzen.

Lorenzen has made 4 appearances so far this year and has only surrendered 2 earned runs.

A right-handed pitcher, Lorenzen’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska plays host to one of the most exciting baseball tournaments every summer in the College World Series. He attended Omaha Burke High School where he was an all-state honorable mention pitcher.

Lorenzen is the son Melissa and Randy Lorenzen. His father works as a printer salesman, therefore Lorenzen likes to tell people that his dad is the “Michael Scott of printers.” His mother, meanwhile works at the University of Nebraska with one of the university foundations handling funds with most of her work building towards the public and the alumni.

Lorenzen has three siblings, Emily, Kaitlyn and Josh, who are 18 year-old triplets attending high school back in Omaha.

Out of high school, Lorenzen began his collegiate career at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Nebraska. He spent 2 seasons there and had one unforgettable experience during that time.

“My sophomore year we went to the Junior College World Series, so that was a lot of fun,” said Lorenzen. “Winning the super regional at our home field was pretty sweet and just the experience of getting to play at a Junior College World Series.”

After gaining some on-field experience at Southeast, Lorenzen decided to transfer to a bigger school and found Washburn to be the best choice for him.

“I felt at home [at Washburn],” said Lorenzen. “I’m from a bigger city and a bigger high school and [Washburn] isn’t necessarily smaller, but there’s a lot of people around and I felt like I fit in well.”

Besides feeling at home, Lorenzen was pleased with what Coach Douglas has been doing with the program and wanted to be a part of that team. He also enjoys the great facilities Washburn has to offer.

Part of feeling at home is being comfortable with the people you are around and Lorenzen says that is one of the reasons he loves Washburn.

“Everybody is really welcoming,” said Lorenzen. “I feel like there’s a lot of good people at Washburn and everyone makes you feel welcome. It’s easy to make friends here.”

Sports likely will never leave Lorenzen’s life once he graduates college. He is currently working on a degree in mass media with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in business.

Right now, Lorenzen is applying to be the athletic department’s promotions intern for next year. He hopes to use that experience to one day be a PR practitioner for a professional sports team.

Lorenzen likes to stay active in his free time with his favorite outdoor activity being golf. He is disappointed with all the recent snow because he can’t hit links in his free time.

Aside from his baseball goals, Lorenzen’s top goal in life is to see Tiger Woods play in person sometime before he retires. Seeing Tiger play just barely edges out his goal of visiting every MLB stadium in his lifetime.

On the field, Lorenzen is a fierce competitor and a tremendous leader. On a team with so many upperclassmen, it can be hard to find your role as a leader, but Lorenzen has done that and fellow senior Brady Hoover is appreciative of the leadership he brings to the team.

“Nate’s leadership is big for our pitching staff because he brings a certain kind of energy that gets everybody fired up and gets the team going,” said Hoover. “When Nate’s on the mound, our team knows we’re going to win that game. He gives positive vibes in the dugout and does a good job of picking up teammates when they’re down.”

That energy will be key to keeping the team going to have a successful season.

Lorenzen and the Ichabods will be playing this weekend in St. Charles, Missouri against the Lindenwood Lions with all games moved up to 1 p.m. starting on Friday, Feb. 22.