Cuesta Outfielder Natalie Ziegler (SLO HS) has accepted a scholarship to play for Westcliff University in Irvine, California in 2021-22.  It has been a long road for Ziegler since twice earning all-league honors and graduating from San Luis Obispo High in 2018. 

Ziegler left SLO and spent her freshman season at Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely, Colorado.  She made an immediate impact on the program and earned a starting spot for the Spartans, while her .307 batting average was second on the team.  Ziegler was one of the few bright spots on a squad that mustered a combined batting average of only .260 and allowed nearly 11 runs per game in route to a 2-43 season.   

The next year, Ziegler returned to San Luis Obispo and joined a slugging Cuesta Softball team for the abbreviated 2020 campaign.  Ziegler batted .418 as major part of the Cougars' "Murderer's Row" that produced a combined team batting average of .383 over 23 games. In the field, Ziegler mostly roamed the outfield with plenty of range, however her deftness with the glove encouraged the Cougars to also use the southpaw at catcher for a few games.  Ziegler and the Cougars were 16-7 overall and undefeated in the Western State Conference when the 2020 campaign ended in mid-March. 

This Spring, Ziegler and the Cougars plan to pick-up where they left off, when they begin their 2021 schedule in mid-April.  Ziegler will have the chance to re-start her sophomore campaign, before she moves on this Fall on to complete her collegiate career at Westcliff. 

The Westcliff Warriors shall begin their inaugural season of Softball on March 5 and Ziegler will be a veteran addition for their second season in 2022.