Photo by Jake Olson: Martin County West softball pitcher Maddie Carlson winds up to throw during April 16th's contest against Madelia at Fox Lake Area Sports Complex.

WELCOME – It was the quietest perfect game you will ever see.

Back on April 16, Martin County West softball pitcher Maddie Carlson was in complete control of Madelia’s offense, dominating in the opening four innings with nine strikeouts and zero runners on base, all while using just 50 pitches. Pure efficiency.

“You can just tell when she’s on,” Maverick head coach Darrell Ziegler said. “She hits her locations so well when we call for different spots [in the strikezone]. That’s when you usually know she’s going to have a good game.”

But Ziegler didn’t realize how “on” she was. In fact, he was even pondering a move to put Rowan Faber in the circle to throw the final innings.

“I had looked through the book there, and by about the fourth inning, I was going to throw Ro [Rowan Faber] in there for a little bit,” Ziegler said with a laugh. “But it was kind of hard to take someone out at that point.”

Spectators at the Fox Lake Area Sports Complex were thankful for Ziegler’s decision. Carlson trotted to the circle with a 10-0 lead behind her, hoping to accomplish something rarely seen from a young pitcher.

However, she too was somewhat out of touch with the scope of her performance. At least with how truly dominant she was.

“I wasn’t even thinking of it,” Carlson said. “I was just trying to go out there and finish the game.”

As third basemen Courtney Anderson tossed the ball to Addy Wohlhuter for the final out of the afternoon, the entire Maverick crowd erupted in cheer.

For Carlson, this was just another effort in helping her team win. It wasn’t until later that she picked up how special her outing truly was.

“It wasn’t until after, when Zieg said,” Carlson said, smiling. “Then I thought about it and realized that it made sense.”

This moment is a snapshot of the success Carlson has had during her junior season on the Mavericks. Her five years on the varsity lineup have seen a steady increase in production in every pitching statistic, with last spring’s 2.18 earned run average over 141 innings being the greatest output she’s shown in her young career.

Output hasn’t been the only thing Carlson has seen ramp up during this stretch. It’s been the confidence in her abilities that has made her one of the more prominent pitchers in the southern Minnesota area. The ability that was displayed during her time on junior varsity.

A coach’s instinct

Some credit for discovering Carlson’s pitching capabilities goes to Ziegler. His keen eye for arm talent played a part in her early opportunities at the varsity level.

He recalled being asked by coaches during the summer of 2021, Carlson’s 6th-grade year, about her pitching mechanics. While helping with her pitching motion and delivery, Ziegler recognized the foundation for what could be a big talent in the circle. A talent that could blossom into something bigger down the road.

“I’d seen her pitch and was pretty impressed at that point,” Ziegler said. “As a sixth grader, she was throwing the ball very well at that point already.”

Ziegler took one more look at Carlson’s talents the next spring. She had some weeks of practice on the junior high MCW roster at this point. But one more check-in with the young talent was all the proof Ziegler needed. Carlson was going to be a varsity Maverick.

“During her seventh-grade season, the junior high team had started practicing,” Ziegler said. “I went over and watched her throw there. And that was enough to convince me she was capable of pitching up at the higher level.”

Forty degrees and ready

Flash forward to April 19, 2022, in Lake Crystal. MCW was playing the hometown Knights for what was their second game of the spring season. Carlson remembers this day more for the frigid sub-40-degree temperatures rather than what transpired on the field.

“It was about 40 degrees that day, and it was freezing,” Carlson said. “My hands were freezing even at first base. It was just so cold.”

Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, which finished this season with an 18-5 record, took an early advantage over the Mavericks by the middle of the second frame. Ziegler’s walk to the field wasn’t to check on his team’s status. It was to see if his seventh-grade arm was ready to make her varsity debut.

“Zieg asked if I was ready, and I don’t think I had another answer to say,” Carlson said, jokingly. “I even remember my warm-up pitches being way up there [in the strikezone]. Zieg asked again if I was good to go, and I said yes. My hands were almost purple because it was so cold.”

Carlson ultimately heated up enough to put together just over three innings of work to close out the rest of the contest. While she allowed six runs, the right-hander gave up just two hits while fanning three batters.

The rest of the 2022 spring saw Carlson continue to get throwing opportunities. Despite coming in mostly relief situations, she finished the year collecting 67 innings and compiling a 4.39 earned run average. Ziegler was impressed by the effort she put into his team, even with the limited sample size.

“I think she pitched very well for a seventh grader,” Ziegler said. “She didn’t pitch seven full innings as we see now. It was usually two or three innings here and there. But she did very well.”

Finding her command

Every year since has been a step up for Carlson. Her eighth-grade season was another display of spot innings by the MCW pitching staff, coming in when needed to help out in any way she could. But the biggest jump happened during her freshman spring.

The Mavericks leaned on Carlson the most in 2024. She went from 96 innings to just over 124 in this transition. Her earned run average dropped to a career low 1.91, piling up 180 strikeouts and picking up 11 wins. She was becoming the pitcher Ziegler envisioned.

“Since her freshman season, she’s been the No. 1 pitcher [for us],” Ziegler said. “We’ve always had some other girls who pitched well, but she’s logged the most innings from her freshman season going forward.”

The most significant jump hasn’t been innings logged. According to Ziegler, the command and ability to work the strike zone have been the biggest differences since her early pitching days.

Walks have continued to level off as output has increased. She gave out 67 free bases in 2022. But in the following two seasons, that number was 70 combined. Carlson mentioned this is because her confidence levels have been slowly rising game after game. The adjustment from sixth-grade summer softball to the varsity level has only gotten easier with time.

“Going from sixth-grade softball to varsity was a huge jump,” Carlson said. “But as the years went on, I became more comfortable and developed better bonds with my teammates. …My teammates helped a lot, too. I was a seventh grader in the role with juniors and seniors, and they included me a ton.”

Carlson is on pace for her best year yet with MCW. She’s posted a 1.62 earned run average over 52 innings. Her 80 strikeouts and eight walks are on pace to be the best marks she’s had in a single season.

The strikeouts and low earned run averages simply tell part of Carlson’s story. But the biggest difference since her varsity debut in Lake Crystal is the attitude she carries into every inning. Over five seasons with MCW, the belief in her abilities has grown into one of the Mavericks biggest strengths.