When Marin Catholic slugger Julia Scardina was named the 2018 Prep2Prep Junior of the Year she had a fantastic season that would be hard to top, but the Utah-bound catcher did just that.

Now, after leading Marin Catholic to its greatest season in school history while also writing her name into the school’s record book in a plethora of categories, Scardina is the Prep2Prep Senior of the Year award winner.

“I’m truly honored,” Scardina said when told she was the award winner. “To get Player of the Year in the MCAL (Marin County Athletic League) and now the NCS senior award, and the team won MCAL and NCS? My senior year could not have been better.”

“I want to thank everyone that helped me along the way the last four years. It was really a blessing not to go unnoticed these last four years,” continued Scardina in between playing some extra travel ball games against top pitching to sharpen her up for playing at Utah.

Scardina was plenty sharp in the playoffs when teams didn’t intentionally walk her. San Marin intentionally walked her four times in the MCAL title game, but the Wildcats won 10-7 and after going 14-0 for the first time in school history to win the league championship, they also won the playoff title as well for only the second time in school history.

In the quarterfinals of the NCS Division III playoffs and after a bye, Terra Linda gave Scardina three free passes on purpose but was still on the short end of an 11-1 mercy-shortened affair. St. Joseph Notre Dame tried its luck and only walked her once but in the other three at-bats she had a home run and two doubles in a six-inning 10-0 whitewash.

Sonoma Valley actually took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first in the championship game and maybe that emboldened the Dragons brain trust to pitch to Scardina in the bottom of the first. After a walk to Emily Press to lead off the bottom of the inning and a ground out, Scardina stepped up and launched a towering drive estimated at 235-feet that disappeared into the trees beyond the fence in right centerfield. It gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead they never relinquished in a 3-1 victory in which Sonoma Valley gave Scardina an intentional pass in her next two plate appearances.

With the win Marin Catholic finished 25-1 with a lone loss to a Prep2Prep Central Coast Section No. 3 Presentation-San Jose team that was the No. 1 seed in the CCS Open Division playoffs.

The Marin County Athletic League has had some great hitters but we’re not sure there is anyone that has had the kind of four-year career Scardina has had, or a better single season than she had this year.

This past season Scardina hit .671 with 13 home runs, one triple, 10 doubles, 55 RBI, 47 hits, and she even scored 23 runs. The 55 RBI was tied for the sixth highest reported mark in the state and second in the NCS, but all the girls ahead of her were either from small schools and/or had a lot more than 70 at-bats Scardina had after getting walked 19 times with 10 coming in the playoffs. Remarkably, in 89 plate appearances she did not strike out.

As for records the 55 RBI, 13 home runs and 47 hits are all single season Marin Catholic records. The 26 walks she drew in 2018 is also a single season record.

Scardina holds the school career record for average (.561), hits (169), home runs (29), doubles (49), RBI (157), and not surprisingly her 70 bases on balls as well.

“Julia is an incredibly talented softball player,” remarked Marin Catholic Coach David Albini. “I will definitely miss watching her hit, but I’m really going to miss seeing her at practice. She has a great personality and always made all the coaches and other players laugh. She’s just a blast to watch play and I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to coach her for four years.”

“As far as whether she’s the best ever at Marin Catholic, I can only speak for the seven years I’ve been there and she’s definitely the best I’ve ever coached,” continued Albini. “Given all her school records you can definitely make the argument she’s the best ever softball player to come through Marin Catholic.”

Prior to Scardina becoming a Wildcat, Marin Catholic had only won one NCS championship and that was in 2015. In 2016 they repeated with Scardina hitting .452 with a team leading four home runs, 10 doubles and 38 RBI as a freshman. Now, she moves on the next level at Utah with two NCS titles on her resume.

“Winning the NCS title not only once but twice is such an amazing accomplishment not just for me but as a team it’s something we have been working hard for all season,” Scardina said. “Every day this season every one of my teammates showed up to have fun, work hard and win. I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates/sisters. I’m going to miss then a lot next year.

Next year is actually this fall when Scardina becomes a member of the Utes, but why Utah?

“University of Utah was the right home for me right as I stepped on the campus and I knew especially when I first stepped out of our car and I was looking at the Dumke Family Softball Stadium,” Scardina remarked. “I believe everything happens for a reason and Utah was always supposed to be my home. When I first met Coach Amy Hogue she kindly greeted my family and then proceeded to give me a big hug as she welcomed me to her home. I was immediately comfortable with her and the Ute community.”

Comfortable is one thing but where does she thinks she fits?

“I’m expecting myself to fit in very well at Utah,” was Scardina’s answer. “”I’m hoping to hit while mostly playing catcher and first base. All the girls on the team have been really supportive towards me and can’t wait for my freshmen class to be there.”

“What I’m looking forward to most at Utah is being part of a D1 Pac-12 competitive softball program that will push my limits and me to be the best version of myself,” continued Scardina. “I’m going to have to work extremely hard next year and push myself like never before.”

Julia is already thinking about her future and not surprisingly sports are in the picture.

“I’m planning on studying sports broadcasting and media,” Scardina said. “I think the career courses of being a sports agent or going into sports broadcasting would be an awesome career path.”

Some day she might be a broadcaster but for now she’s a softball playing student athlete and she leaves for Utah as the 2019 Prep2Prep Senior of the Year for softball.

Other players considered include Bishop O'Dowd's Elizabeth Avery, Bishop O'Dowd's Nicole Hammoude and Heritage's Xiara Diaz.

NOTE: We would like to thank our media partners, coaches, parents, players and fans for contributing photos for our all-section features. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of NCS softball.