WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016 APPEAL TRIBUNE ● 3B ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL Alex Molloy has proved her value to Silverton since she earned the starting pitching spot as a freshman when she was a first-team all-Mid-Willamette Conference player. Molloy Continued from Page 1B “And I think just her grit to be one of the best players in the league and even in the state makes her great.” Though Molloy is known as a power pitcher – she consistently throws in the high 50s – she insists that her goal since she started pitching has been to get spin on the ball, and she does. A student of pitching, she has con- stantly been learning since she first started pitching and she would pitch for hours at a time in her back yard. But the velocity was inevitable. “She’s definitely stronger this year,” Silverton coach Ralph Cortez said. “We know that she’s gotten faster, definitely. So she’s gotten stronger, that’s what we see. And we noticed that against Canby and Marist.” Molloy has proved her value to Silver- ton since she earned the starting pitch- ing spot as a freshman when she was a first-team all-Mid-Willamette Confer- ence player. She has thrived on it. “I feel like I thrive off of pressure and I had a great team to support me coming in as a freshman,” said Molloy, last year’s Mid-Willamette Conference Pitcher of the Year. “I don’t know, I have a thing where I’ve played girls that are older than me in ASA, like it’s just like ASA pitching in high school. “I had great seniors at the time who really brought me in as a family, and it was just such a great experience like that.” bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler SOFTBALL Greater Valley: The conference championship is expected to be a tight race between West Albany and West Salem, which returns a huge group of standout players, including Tayler Gu- nesch, Taylor Redman, Paige Whipple and Nalani Muranaka. McNary has some strong players in all-state senior Kinsey McNaught, Madisen Oliver and sophomore Madia Witt, who has commit- ted to play at Western Oregon. Mid-Willamette: State semifinalist Silverton is the heavy favorite to win the conference behind a team including all-state players Alex Molloy, Maggie Roth and Maggie Buckholz, who has committed to play at Oregon. Lebanon, a Dallas team behind senior pitcher Yasmine El-Hato and Central should be competitive. Oregon West: Yamhill-Carlton and Newport are expected to be at the top of the conference. Returning all-conference players Malya Ikea-Mario, Rachael Branch and Lyndsey DeSantis, Stay- ton is young but has the talent to make noise. West Valley: A Dayton team that won the 3A state championship a season ago is the favorite this year, but Amity and Santiam Christian should be improved. Sheridan could take a step up with starters Ashley Aponte, Sam Mack, Sianna Williams and Maddy Samples. PacWest: A young Scio team that swept the conference last year is the heavy favorite to win it again, but could be pushed by Colton and a Blanchet team with a young, athletic team in- cluding Adrianna Ruiz, Analyssa Ruiz, Maddie Fessler and Kat Ruiz. 2A/1A Special District 2: While Central Linn is the favorite to win the conference again, there are some teams that could make noise. Perrydale returns four-year starting catcher Anna Magill along with multi-year starters and Hannah Amador and Hannah Smith and St. Paul has poten- tial with Emily Vela, Elizabeth Brentano and Logan Robinson.