Softball Soccer
Favorite athlete: Trey Ziegler
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Throwing a perfect game against Upper Moreland.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Every time the photographer takes a picture of me, my tongue is sticking out!
Music on your iPod: Country! (Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Lady A, Scotty McCreery)
Future plans: Going to Indiana University Bloomington to get a degree in Business.
Words to live by: ‘You only live once.’
One goal before turning 30: Be a winner on the game show The Price is Right.
One thing people don’t know about me: My favorite movie is Shawshank Redemption
Katie Ziegler has a very simple goal each and every time she takes to the mound.
Perfection … and nothing less.
“Every game I go in, I hope for a perfect game,” the Wissahickon senior pitcher said. “That’s what I shoot for. And I just take it batter by batter, pitch by pitch.”
As a sophomore, Ziegler achieved just that, hurling a perfect game against Upper Moreland. Two years later, Ziegler has established herself as the premier pitcher in the American Conference (as evidenced by her First Team All-League selections as both a sophomore and junior). This season, the southpaw has been the pitcher of record in every game as the Trojans have won 10 of 11 games and are undefeated in seven league contests.
Though there haven’t been any perfect games thus far, you won’t hear too many complaints about Ziegler’s efforts.
“Katie’s a very intimidating figure on the mound. It’s like looking down the barrel of a gun,” said Wissahickon coach John Bilella. “Katie is so competitive and such a leader, whether she’s batting or fielding or pitching, everything she does, it has to be perfect. And she’s very serious about it. She’s a kid you find one in a million, she’s absolutely into the game of softball when she’s out there. She’s a student of the game, she knows it well.
“Katie’s probably the most intense person I’ve ever coached. And she’s just a phenomenal athlete. She’s an all-around player. I’ve never had anyone like her, and I’ve had some good ones in the 17 years I’ve been coaching. I’ve had some MVPs over the years, and she’s one of the best I’ve ever had.”
While her rocket arm and precision pitching make the four-year starter a top-notch pitcher, her knowledge of her opponents and her ability to adapt to particular hitters make her truly elite.
“Katie remembers almost everybody who comes up to bat,” Bilella said. “She’ll shake a lot of pitches off because she knows the person from years before and she knows how to pitch to people.”
“A lot of times I look at the batters, I look at their swings, I see if they swing inside-out or outside-in,” Ziegler said. “I look where their hands go. I see where they stand in the box. And that really determines how I pitch them.”
And should the batter manage to get a hit off Ziegler, she will do everything in her power to ensure that it won’t happen the next time.
“I’m always disappointed in myself if I throw something wrong,” she said. “I know what I’m doing wrong and I know how to fix it the next time.
“I basically review the whole game in my head afterward. If girls hit triples or doubles off of me, I’ll always think about, ‘Where was that pitch? What could I have done differently?’ I know a lot of hitters because I’ve pitched to them four years and I know their weaknesses, so if I miss my spots I really criticize myself for that.”
And she lives for those matchups against quality hitters she has faced over the past four years.
“I definitely enjoy it,” she said. “When I see a good hitter, my focus digs even deeper. Ultimately, my goal is to strike them out. I want to get the strikeout.”
If, however, the opposing batter should make contact, Ziegler knows her teammates are always there to back her up.
“I have more confidence than you can describe,” she said. “On every play, every girl knows what they’re supposed to do. I have all the confidence in the world in every girl on my team.”
Ziegler is gracious almost to a fault, constantly praising her teammates and coaches throughout the years. Ask her about herself, and she’ll offer up how her dad helped her hone her pitching skills when she first started pitching, or how the confidence her teammates have in her has helped her improve her own confidence.
That’s because Ziegler knows that one person can’t make perfect games and league titles and playoff appearances happen ... it takes an entire team.
But it certainly helps to have a Katie Ziegler to set the example.
“Having someone like Katie makes your job much easier,” said Bilella, who is in his first season at the helm at Wissahickon. “She’s like another coach out there.
“She’s a no-nonsense ballplayer. Any coach who coaches softball would love to have somebody like her, not just for her ability, but her attitude. She brings the kids together. To have somebody like that on the field is an asset. And the team reflects her demeanor. They all listen to her and follow her.”
Ziegler, who began playing softball in the fifth grade, initially balked at the prospect of pitching. And it wasn’t the thrill of the position that eventually won her over … it was the thrill of mastering such a difficult position.
“When I was younger, I was too afraid to pitch, I didn’t want to let my team down,” she said. “In sixth grade I started pitching. I don’t think that I fell in love with pitching, per se, I fell in love with the challenge. I fell in love with the challenge of pitching … challenging myself, become stronger, throw harder, become more accurate. From doing that, I fell in love with pitching.”
Also the Trojans’ top batter, usually hitting out of the three-hole, Ziegler is making a strong case for herself as the American Conference MVP, a goal she has set for herself in her final season on the Wissahickon fields. She’s also hoping the Trojans can claim their second straight conference championship (preferably with an undefeated record) and advance past the first round of the District One Tournament, ideally earning a berth in the state tournament.
It would be the perfect ending to a senior season that saw Ziegler, for the first time in her high school career, lend her abilities to two Wissahickon teams. After a three-year hiatus, Ziegler played for the Trojans’ soccer team in the fall and was named Second Team All-League.
“It was a tough decision to give up soccer,” said Ziegler, who had played both sports in middle school. “Softball is such a skill-oriented sport, I wanted to become a great softball player because it is so hard to do. So I chose softball over soccer. I didn’t love soccer as much as I loved going to softball games and practices.
“But I’m so happy I had a chance to play again this year. It was so much fun and such a great experience to be able to step back out there and help my team.”
Ziegler also enjoys being able to work with younger girls on teaching the finer points of the game. She helps coach a pair of youth teams and helped run a recent softball clinic sponsored by the high school team.
“Katie and Rebecca (Marinucci, co-captain) ran a clinic, brought the younger school kids in,” Bilella said. “They all know Katie, they all look up to her. To have someone who has the influence she has already, it’s just unbelievable. And the kids all know Katie, they all want to be pitchers.”
“I just love working with the younger kids,” Ziegler said. “I love helping, I love teaching, I love coaching. I love showing them how awesome softball can be. How fun the game is.
“It’s so important for girls to learn the correct way to pitch, to hit, at a young age, so that when they’re older, they’re not trying to fix their swing, they already have the mechanics down, it’s just a matter of hitting the ball or throwing a strike.”
And while softball plays a huge part in Ziegler’s life, she is able to keep everything in perspective. And when she heads off to college in the fall, softball will not be on the agenda … at least, not at first.
Among the top students in her class – Ziegler is taking two AP classes and one Honors-level class this year – and a member of Student Council and the Fans Club, Ziegler will attend Indiana University, where she will pursue a degree in business … and will put softball on the backburner.
“I decided last year about this time that I was going to go to school for school, not for softball,” Ziegler said. “I spent last summer looking at the best business schools, a school that was good at sports, had a big campus, and once I stepped on the Indiana campus I knew it was right for me.
“I think it’s going to be difficult to give up softball. I think it’s more difficult than I realize now. And there’s a pretty good chance that I may try out for a team, either club or varsity. But I think I’m going to miss it a lot. I love stepping on that mound. I love the thrill of a win. I love my teammates.”
And as long as she continues to wear and blue-and-yellow, she will do everything in her power to help her team achieve the lofty goals they’ve set for themselves.
And she is going to enjoy every moment of it.
“Softball has always been one of my passions,” Ziegler said. “I love it. Going into every game, I have a positive mindset. I have so much confidence in my team, and I love every second of being out there. Every pitch, I just try to clear my head, stay focused, throw hard and do my best, and I know my team will support me and be behind me.
“We’ve done a lot in my four years. Wissahickon used to be looked at as an easy game, and now other teams fear us. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and what my team has accomplished. We’ve progressively gotten better from my freshman to my senior season, and we’re aiming even higher this season. I have a lot of faith in my team and a lot of faith in my coaches. I truly believe that we can do it.”
