Callaway High School senior and softball player Jessica Siggers was very “excited,” on Thursday and for good reason.

She signed a national letter of intent to attend college and play softball at Columbus State University starting in the fall of 2013.

The Cavalier slugger made it official at the high school, surrounded by family, teammates, friends, coaches and staff as Callaway softball coach Nick Drescher introduced Siggers and her family for those who gathered for the occasion.

“When I had the privilege of talking to the coach at Columbus State, I talked to him about her ability to put the ball in play,” Drescher said in his opening comments. “She’s not going to strike out. She’s going to make something happen on your offense. She’s going to be very successful in college.”

Siggers finished her career at Callaway with a batting average of .453 including five homeruns, 87 RBIs, 23 doubles and 12 triples.

Her senior year numbers were even better as she batted .483 that included three homeruns, 38 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .535. In 221 appearances at the plate, she only struck out 14 times.

“Jessica is a heck of a ball player,” Drescher said. “She’s been a leader of this team the last four years. I’ve had the privilege of coaching her for three of those years. Jessica is not only a wonderful ball player, she’s a great student and a great person.”

Siggers has been playing ball since the age of 6 as she learned a lot about the game playing backyard ball with brother, Tim Siggers, also a former Callaway athlete.

She’s been overwhelmed about the opportunity to attend school close to home and to continue her softball career another four years.

“I’m very ecstatic. It’s like a dream come true,” Siggers said as she described signing with CSU. “My senior year was great. I had a great team behind me on and off the field. It was just amazing.”

Her mother Leeann Siggers has been a huge supporter of her daughter’s efforts as she watched Jessica from the back of the room, tears welling in her eyes as she described what the signing means to her daughter and the family.

“It’s been a dream of hers for a very long time,” Leeann Siggers said, her voice cracking with emotion. “She’s always worked hard. There’s been many late nights through the cold, through the very hot, all the travel ball experience that she has and she knew her goal would be to play travel ball. “When she was a little girl, she used to be on the field playing with her brother. They would be out in the back yard throwing back and forth to each other and people would like say, ‘my God, that child has got a strong arm.’ I think that was because she had to keep up with her brother so much.”

There is a 13 year difference between Jessica and brother, Tim.

So he took Jessica under his wing, worked with her and the experience helped bring her up to another level.

“He (Tim) was always there. He was encouraging her,” Leeann Siggers explained. “But it’s nice to see her reach her goal and she is truly ecstatic about it and ready for the next level.”

Siggers plans to major in criminal justice at CSU and possibly enter crime scene investigation, although her mother said that could change once she explores her options further.