Zeeland West's Carly Sleeman, Hamilton's Madie Jamrog are Sentinel Co-Softball Players of the Year

Despite tons of star power coming from virtually every local high school softball team this season, two players separated themselves from the rest.

Hamilton's Madie Jamrog and Zeeland West's Carly Sleeman played at an elite level every time they took the field. The Hawkeyes junior was a dominating presence in the circle while the Dux junior was a stud in the middle of the infield and behind the plate. Both young women put up absurd numbers in the batter's box too and have been named Holland Sentinel Co-Softball Players of the Year.

More: Zeeland West's Carly Sleeman brings energy and a spark to the diamond

More: Hamilton's Madie Jamrog tosses third no-hitter of season -High school sports rewind

More: Holland Sentinel All-Area Softball Team

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Jamrog, who was last season's Holland Sentinel Softball Player of the Year, earned honorable mention all-state accolades at division 2 this season. In addition to that, she also earned all-confrence, all-district, and all-region honors, helping Hamilton earn its first OK Blue title in nearly 20 years. She was dominant in the circle, boasting a 24-4 record on the year, with just 28 earned runs allowed in 171.1 innings tossed. She sat down 265 batters via strikeout and gave only 44 batters a free pass. She threw a perfect game as well as two additional no-hitters on the season in regulation-length games.

Last season she dominated with her fastball and screwball combination, but this season there was so much more. She added several pitches to her arsenal, including a curveball, changeup and a riseball. It wasn't always comfortable for her adding in the new pitches, but by the end of the season she was handing out K's left and right on all of her pitches, keeping anybody off balance who stepped in the box against her.

"It got better as the season went on, I wasn't as comfortable with all the pitches at the beginning," Jamrog said. "But as I got into my groove and kept pushing through it got a lot better, particularly my curveball."

That's just half the story when it comes to Jamrog, though. She was just as elite at the plate as she was in the circle. The junior's batting average eclipsed the .500 mark on the season, with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs on the campaign. Once she got on base she was a menace too, with 42 stolen bags on the year.

Mark Behnke, Hamilton's coach, knows that having a player like that is a special thing. He's been coaching multiple sports at the high school level for over two decades. He said he's coached future NFL players and several Division I talents, but Jamrog is just different. It's not only her sheer love for the game that makes her stand out, but her ability to make the players around her better.

"She has a love of her team and a love of the game of softball that I've never seen in any sport that I've coached in high school athletics," Behnke said. "It would be so easy for her to focus on only her, but yet it's the complete opposite, she is so all-in on her teammates."

Sleeman is another one of those players who just has a knack for making those around her better. She helped lead the Dux to their second straight OK Green title. Just like Jamrog, the Central Michigan commit is on a team full of star players, but yet her next-level talent is able to stand out amongst the crowd.

She was a critical player on defense, committing just four errors on the season between shortstop, second base and catcher, earning first-team all-state honors for the second straight season. She was just as consistent at the plate, hitting at a .556 clip, adding 33 extra base hits and five home runs on the season. As a leadoff hitter, she also had 51 RBIs, while scoring 58 times on the season and only struck out three times all year.

The junior comes from local softball royalty, with her parents running one of the premier travel softball teams in West Michigan and her sister, Courtney, playing at Western Michigan University a few years ago. She said that constant drive from those around her ever since she was a little girl has helped make her so stellar with a bat in her hand.

"I've had great coaches my entire life, my family has helped coach me forever," Sleeman said. "They've taught me pretty much everything I know, My travel coaches always make a point to have us play against the highest competition possible, the more you do that the more it helps you out."

Scott Sliva, Zeeland West's coach, has been a part of the Sleeman's travel ball program in the past, but is now focusing on the Dux. He's been fortunate enough to coach some tremendous players. He still has several first-team All-Area players on his small roster of 11.

When it comes to some of the best players he's ever coached, they have something different about them. Just like Behnke said about Jamrog, Sliva sees that Sleeman just has that extra level to go to that pushes her teammates around her to get better and better. Sleeman's brilliance isn't limited to swinging a bat or making a diving play. What sets her apart comes down to what's going on in her head on virtually every pitch.

"She's probably one of the highest IQs in the game of softball that I've seen in the game of softball," Sliva said. "Defensively, offensively, just how the game is played, she's very very smart."

Despite two incredible seasons from both young women, their teams failed to make it out of the district round due to some really tough brackets handed to them. While both individuals surely have a ton more softball to play at an extremely high level for the next several years, that's not what they're focused on.

Both players want to make a deep playoff run and leave their programs better than they were when they first stepped on the field last season.

"I'd like us to ger further in districts," Sleeman said. "We always have the goal to win the conference, and we're hoping for a three-peat next year, but I know we can get deeper in districts this coming season."

"I want to make a big run in the tournament and help build on the culture that this year's senior left behind," Jamrog said. "They were a huge part of everything we're doing at Hamilton and I just want to continue that."

ALL-AREA SOFTBALL

FIRST TEAM

Carly Sleeman, Zeeland West (POY)

Madie Jamrog, Hamilton (POY)

Alexa Brott, Zeeland West

Katie Carlson, Zeeland East

Riley Gruppen, Zeeland East

Ali Holman, Zeeland East

Emily Kragt, Zeeland West

Alyssa Morgan, Hamilton

Tiernan Nykamp, Hamilton

Taylor Oosterink, Hamilton

Lani Salinas, West Ottawa

Raya VanderZwaag, Hamilton

Hannah Walker, Saugatuck

Taylor Zwagerman, Zeeland West

SECOND TEAM

Emily Brands, Zeeland West

Kenzie Brothers, Saugatuck

Ashley Duff, Holland

Reese Gruppen, Zeeland East

Ella Hathaway, Zeeland East

Kyra Kleinheksel, Hamilton

Jaiden Lee, Zeeland East

Emme Meyering, Zeeland East

Ava Prielipp, Hamilton

Rebekah Stillwell, Holland

Kianna Vork, Hamilton

Megan Williams, Hamilton

—Contact Assistant Sports Editor Will Kennedy at Will.Kennedy@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByWillKennedy and Facebook @Holland Sentinel Sports.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Madie Jamrog, Carly Sleeman named co-softball player of the year