VALRICO, Fla. — How do you become one of the top pitchers in the nation?

For Bloomingdale High junior Natalie Cable, she just followed the leader, her older sister.

“She really got me into it,” Cable said. “She played and I wanted to be exactly like her.”

Soon, the lure of the pitching circle drew Cable to the softball field often. Over the years, she’s perfected her craft, while maintaining the love of the sport.

“I played other sports when I was younger and I just fell in love with this one,” she said. “I knew that was a sport I wanted to play in college.”

Before she departs for the next level, this junior is helping the Bulls bring home another state championship. They are a favorite to win the Class 6A title. Bloomingdale is one of the top programs and Cable deserves a lot of credit for that. She leads the Tampa Bay area in strikeouts and homers.

But she is quick to attribute her success this season to her teammates.

“Having confidence that behind me is a great group of girls that can back me up,” she said. “And also knowing that I’m competitive in myself and knowing that I have the ability to beat a batter.”

Cable is a complete player. Not only does she get it done on the pitching mound, she brings it with her bat too. She has homered 11 times, with 32 RBI this season. The hours of practice are paying off.

“Everybody has a strong work ethic and we all want to work on the same goal, so I think that’s helped us this season a lot,” she said.

She has dreamed of playing in college and she will, having committed to UCLA. She is taking her talents to the West Coast where she hopes to blossom as a player and a person. An admitted perfectionist, she has used softball to learn a lot of about herself.

“Learning to work on things and through things has really helped me grow as a person outside of the sport,” she said.