Aria Pogni established herself as one of the most prolific hitters in the NCS during her time at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.

The slugging senior, who won the MCAL triple crown impressing opposing coaches all year long, was named the Prep2Prep North Coast Section Senior of the Year,

Drake coach Paul Perryman described Pogni's leadoff homer against his team to the San Marin Independent Journal: "Pogni hit a tape-measure leadoff home run approximately 11-feet high that is still traveling northwest."

Gary Casassa, in his 22nd year coaching at Redwood describe the Loyola Marymount-bound athlete this way.

"I've seen some great hitters in this league that have gone on to play Division I softball. There have been a lot of them, but she's definitely in the top five, for sure."

Pogni batted .686, 16 home runs, 39 RBI for the Red Tailed Hawks and led her team to a 3-2 North Coast Section Division III championship game victory over Marin rival Terra Linda.

Opposing coaches would pitch around Pogni prompting Tam coach Erin Lawley to counter Pogni's base on balls barrage with a little strategy of her own. She moved her etched-in-stone No. 3 hitter into the leadoff spot after a couple of games this season.

"I moved her to leadoff after our first two MCAL games to try and get her more quality at-bats instead of so many intentional walks," Lawley said. "She hit a home run against San Marin to start the game in her first appearance atop the order and again on Thursday against Drake."

Pogni has no qualms with her new spot atop the batting order.

"I never batted leadoff before, but I really enjoyed it," said Pogni. "I got more at-bats and my on-base percentage is like .800."

Pogni said she is always on the field, refining her game.

"I'm at the field every day of the week," she said. "I'm in the batting cage or at practice or I go with my dad and take batting practice.

"When I hit it really good I don't feel anything," Pogni added. "When I hit that home run against Drake, Paul said he had never seen one hit there. I didn't feel it at all. In fact, I was streaking to second base before I knew it was out."

Also considered: Erin Enke, Alhambra; Kaylee James, Heritage; Brittney Veler, Maria Carrillo; and Tayler Peters, James Logan.

NOTE: We would like to thank our readers for all of the nominations you sent in for the season-ending NCS softball awards. It is a daunting task to narrow down our selections to just the top few as we recognize there are lots of great players who make contributions on the diamond that are not necessarily well-documented but mean a great deal to the success of their teams. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of NCS softball.