G-Prep’s Anderson a leader, at the plate and behind it

While the Gonzaga Prep Bullpups have had their struggles in the win-loss column on the softball diamond this season, they can’t fault the efforts of catcher Molly Anderson.

“She’s a very competitive player,” said G-Prep coach Jim Pizelo. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s softball or checkers, she’s going to try and beat you.”

The senior leads the Greater Spokane League in homers and is batting over .600 with a slugging percentage of 1.400. They are huge numbers that have come from steady improvement since Anderson’s first varsity season.

“When she was a freshman, she was a good hitter, hitting around .400 or so,” said Pizelo, who began as G-Prep coach during Anderson’s freshman year. “When she went to play for her team in the summer, they changed a few things – her stance, her swing – and gave her more power. It’s given her more consistency. She has done a very good job of reaching my expectations, which I’m sure, are nowhere close to her expectations. She holds herself to a very high standard and isn’t satisfied until she’s met them. She’s harder on herself than anyone.”

Anderson says her confidence has improved since her freshman year. “I was decent, but I was scared when I played. My skills have evolved a lot, but I’ve got a lot more confidence, so I’m not afraid when I play.”

Anderson’s offense has never been in question. Defensively, she has improved to the point of earning a full-tuition scholarship to play at Indiana University next season.

“Her mobility more than anything has improved drastically,” said Pizelo. “She’s really worked well on her footwork, powering up, throwing down, having quick feet and moving side to side to block balls. She’s really become an athlete over the years, more agile. She’s worked very, very hard on framing the ball. She probably frames the ball better than anyone in the league. We’ve been allowing her to call her own games as well. She’s intelligent as well as a physical player. She understands the game. She knows how to read hitters, and she knows what to throw and what not to throw in what situation. She’s improved in that regard, too.”

“It takes a lot of dedication,” Anderson said. “It’s repetition, taking hours of practice.”

Anderson has become the vocal leader of the Bullpups.

“When she was a freshman, she was terribly shy and not very loud,” Pizelo said. “We sat down with her and told her she had to be talking more, the quarterback as it were. She’s worked and worked and worked on that. It was hard for her at first. Now as a senior, she’s had some success, so that has built confidence. She’s the man down here. I’ve been very pleased in her role as captain. … We were in a team meeting, and she said that telling her she’s doing a good job doesn’t motivate her. She wants to know what she needs to improve on.”

Anderson credits past teammates with helping her develop her confidence and leadership. “My freshman year, Michelle Tully was pitching,” said Anderson. “That was a really great experience to be catching for her because she was such a great leader. She had a confidence. She was great at working with everybody. I’ve tried to take part of how she dealt with team and helped out. I just try to be positive and make sure that they (the younger players) know they’re good enough to compete at this level. I try to help them along when they’re down and try to keep them up. To just motivate them with positive energy.”

Anderson and her teammates hope to finish the season strong, but she knows her work on the field this year will help her into her next step with the Hoosiers next spring.

“I’m just trying to get better every day,” she said. “It’s been my goal since last summer to this summer. I just want to improve every day so I can be the best I can be.”