The Chronicle's All-Metro regional softball players of the year
Gianna Galarza (St. Ignatius): The junior catcher earned first-team All-West Catholic Athletic League honors by hitting .515 (35-for-68) with 24 RBIs, seven doubles and four home runs, all team bests. In 84 plate appearances, Galarza struck out just twice and drew 15 walks as she posted a .607 on-base percentage with a 1.401 OPS. The third-year starter also threw out nine runners trying to steal and had just two errors in 183 total chances. A model of consistency, Galarza had hits in 22 of 23 games, starting the season on a 16-game hitting streak.
Ava Bulanti (St. Francis): The senior pitcher and slugger was Co-WCAL Pitcher of the Year for the Chronicle's No. 1 team, going 14-1 with a 1.96 ERA. A Stanford commit, Bulanti struck out 112 in 93 innings with 29 walks. She also blasted a team-best eight home runs and hit .398 with eight doubles to help the Lancers win WCAL and Central Coast Section Open Division titles. The Livermore Stampede Tournament MVP had 64 hits, 60 RBIs and 27 extra-base hits during her three-year varsity career.
EAST BAY
Andrea Tall (Newark Memorial): The San Diego State-bound infielder had a monster senior season, hitting .607 with 17 home runs and 49 RBIs for the Cougars (18-5). Tall's home run total bettered the previous North Coast Section single-season record of 15 but was surpassed this season by Metro overall Player of the Year Delaney Aumua's 19. Tall finished with 51 hits in 84 at-bats with 13 additional extra base hits (seven doubles, six triples). In a 9-0 win over Redwood-Larkspur in a North Coast Section Division 2 playoff game, she went 4-for-4 with a double, triple and home run. Her biggest power surge was blasting two home runs, driving in eight and going 4-for-4 in a 30-4 win over Irvington. She had at least three hits eight times.
Callie Howard (Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa): The UC San Diego signee earned North Bay League Oak Division Player of the Year/Pitcher of the Year honors by going 21-6 with a 1.37 ERA and leading the Cardinals to their fourth straight NCS championship. Howard struck out a career-high 260 batters in 163 innings. In the NorCal Division 2 playoffs, she pitched complete-game wins over Calaveras (5-1) and Pinole Valley (1-0) — allowing just seven hits and striking out 19 against zero walks — before losing a 1-0 to Hillsdale-San Mateo in the title game. She also hit .367 with 33 hits on the season.
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