Carmel pitcher Madison DeBennette wasn’t daunted by the challenge of working with a freshman catcher during her senior season.
A fourth-year varsity player, DeBennette recalled some rough patches she experienced early in her Carmel career. So she figured she could help Grace King.
“I know how it feels to be a freshman on varsity, so I just try her teach her the ropes,” DeBennette said.
It’s working. An unusual pairing, DeBennette and King have nonetheless become a formidable battery for the Corsairs (10-1), who are one of the top success stories in Lake County this season.
More Top Picks Best Sandblasting Cabinets
DeBennette, a Wisconsin-Whitewater commit, is 10-1 with a 1.54 ERA in 54 innings. She has allowed just 36 hits and has struck out 80.
“We use our heads together,” DeBennette said. “We did a lot of practicing before the season. She learned what I liked to do, and I learned what she liked to do. We molded our ideas together into what we wanted and what worked well together. We have really good chemistry.”
King, who is hitting .538 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs, praised DeBennette for easing her transition into her varsity role.
“With my past experience as a catcher, I knew how important it is to have a good relationship with your pitcher,” King said. “When catching Madison for the first couple of times in practice, I was confident and had a good feeling how the season would go. We grew our chemistry, which came from working on live at-bats in practice.
“For me, being able to call pitches and see what works and what doesn’t was huge. This helped us grow to have similar mindsets, attack the batters and stay ahead in the count.”
DeBennette, who said she has eight pitches but calls her curveball the best one, has been attacking batters quite effectively this season. In a three-game span this month that included wins against Nazareth and Fremd and a loss to Grant, she gave up just 10 hits and struck out 27 in 20 innings.
On Monday, she held Wauconda’s potent lineup to seven hits and struck out 14 in Carmel’s impressive 8-2 victory.
King said DeBennette’s competitiveness fueled Carmel’s fast start.
“She’s extremely talented, and one of my favorite things about her is her drive,” King said. “She puts 110% into every pitch she throws. She sets the tone for the game. Getting ahead in the count is huge, but Madison is very good at knowing her strengths and weaknesses to work herself back up in the count.”
A single-sport athlete for most of her life, DeBennette said she loves every part of softball, noting, “Why stray away from what you love?”
Carmel first-year coach Kelli Layton is getting an up-close look at DeBennette after working in the program’s lower levels in recent seasons. Layton said she has gained a great appreciation for DeBennette’s work ethic and the various ways she can affect a game.
“She has stepped up as a leader,” Layton said. “She wants to carry the team and be a role model.”
Layton pointed out that DeBennette is helping Carmel’s four freshmen, not just King, adapt to varsity softball on a team that intends to try to make a run in the Class 3A playoffs.
“She’s been a big influence on our culture and helped the freshmen understand the work ethic and standard we’re trying to set,” Layton said.
DeBennette has also shouldered a bigger workload on the mound after one of Carmel’s key pitchers went into the concussion protocol.
“She’s risen to the challenge, pitching more games than we intended,” Layton said. “She challenged herself to be prepared every day.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.