Everything seemed to be set up for Breanna Lutz to be heavily recruited.
The Ramona High School senior was the Avocado League Player of the Year after batting over .600, could hit with power, and was a slick-fielding infielder.
It didn’t happen.
“It (not going to a four-year college) is the best thing that could have happened to me,” said the second-year player who ed one of the top community college softball programs in the state at Palomar College.
“This is where I needed to be to get to the next level. Coach Lacey Craft is amazing and they push us to perform 110 percent at practice, which makes the games easier. Going to Palomar has been so much fun — the right decision.”
Winning and doing well is fun.
Three more wins last week, over San Diego City College and two over Cypress College, brought the Comets’ record to 24-2 overall and 11-0 in Pacific Coast Athletic Conference play, including victories in 20 straight games.
Lutz is batting .563 in PCAC play with a gaudy 1.148 slugging percentage paced by seven home runs. That’s significant because it’s not only the top batting average in the conference, but also because the conference record is .622 by Lacey Craft in 2002.
“If she breaks my record, she’ll deserve it,” said Craft of her third baseman. “I hit for an average but she hits for an average with power. She’s a huge threat as the leadoff batter and she gets us going.
“The thing about Bree is she knows to lay off pitches until the pitcher makes a mistake. She’s not afraid to get hit by a pitch or to take a walk. As a left-handed batter, they tend to try to pitch away from her, but she can hit an inside or an outside pitch.
“She came here eager to play for us and she’s very motivational for the rest of the team.”
Lutz was not aware that her coach holds the school conference batting record but when informed, you could almost hear the wheels turning as she added another goal to winning the California Community College title.
But her success hasn’t come without a lot of hard work and sacrifice.
She felt she’d lost some of the speed she had starting high school after suffering an ACL and meniscus injury playing soccer.
So, last summer she approached Ramona’s Marc Boykins who worked on her speed, even while she continued to get stronger working with weights in the gym.
“Between the speed and strength work, I feel I’m finally back to where I was,” said Lutz, who not only has the green light to steal bases, but had seen her footwork improved playing third base this year after playing first last season.
The other sacrifice comes daily when she jumps in her 2021 Chevy Silverado and heads down the hill close to 50 miles on some of the most treacherous roads leaving Ramona and taking the 78 to Palomar College.
Then she reverses the trip, sometimes taking up to 90 minutes to get home in heavy traffic.
She uses the time to not only review what she’s going to do and how to do it, but to get closer to God.
“I’m a Catholic and I like to focus on my relationship with God,” she said. “I thank him for the blessings he’s given me and my family. I’m thankful for Him, and I’ll say the Rosary before heading up the hill going home.
“It gives me peace of mind and I feel like I’m starting the day off right on my way in. It really is a very beautiful drive, you just have to be careful.”
Lutz actually started out as one of the few girls — and the only one on her team — to play baseball with the boys in the Ramona Pony League but she finally switched to softball.
“My dad (Manuel Lutz) played AAA ball in the White Sox organization, and he’s taught me everything I know about hitting,” said Lutz, who plans to keep playing at the next level while earning a degree in Criminal Justice.
“I’ll get my Associate Arts degree this year and I’ll be ready to move on. But first we want to win that state championship.”
