Ignite Look to Contend in Team’s First Ever Season

Wausau will be the fifth ever franchise in the league, joining the La Crosse Steam, Madison Night Mares, Mankato Habaneros, and Minot Honeybees. Last year was the inaugural season of play, with the Habaneros winning the first title in NWLS history with a 31-11 record.

The Ignite will enter the league led by head coach Jasmine Estrada, who has experience both playing on the field and coaching from the dugout. She was an All-Conference player at St. Cloud State, ending her playing career with the program record in career RBIs, home runs, and extra base hits. She went on to become a graduate assistant coach at Northern State University before being named Wausau’s head coach this past February.

Building an entire program from scratch is both a unique challenge and opportunity, and the former softball star has taken it in stride. Estrada has looked to lay the foundation of her coaching philosophy first, preaching a culture of “Focused Fun” to her players through the preseason.

“I really like to remind the girls to have fun while playing the game of softball because that’s why they chose to play it in the first place,” Estrada said in an interview in early May.

The goal is to keep players loose and energized, but she also believes that the “Focused” half of her motto is equally important.

“[The players] are there to get game reps, and me, the assistant coaches that we brought onto this roster, are very competitive coaches. We want to win.”

She attributes her competitive nature to her Dad, who has been her favorite coach throughout her career.

“I love to bring that competitiveness to the field as well as to the girls, too. It’s intense… I’ve always told my girls at Northern State that it’s a lot more fun when we’re winning. So, I plan to bring that [mindset] to Wausau as well.”

That competitive edge was seen in the team’s first practice of the season on Saturday when Estrada ended the session by taking batting practice herself, seeing how many hits she could land in the outfield before her team caught one.

It was a practice that featured Estrada’s focused fun throughout, with newly acquainted players already joking and jabbing with each other like lifelong teammates. While Estrada was seeing her culture start to take effect, she was also able to get her first look at the team in action.

“I’m feeling really confident with the roster that we have so far. We’ve brought in some really great players, some of the best in Division II, some of the best in Division I… It’s been a really exciting process,”

Estrada and her staff have assembled a roster that compiles talent from all across the college softball landscape.

The team’s first-ever signee, catcher and third baseman Mia Johnson, was one of the most powerful hitters in Division II this spring, launching 17 homers and 34 extra-base hits. This performance earned her a second-straight GLIAC Player of the Year Award, along with a Third Team All-American nod by the NFCA and D2CCA.

The Parkside standout also has prior NWLS experience, mashing eight doubles and two home runs on an eye-popping .500 batting average in just 15 games with Madison.

Johnson is one of three Ignite players who played in the league last summer. Infielder Valerie Osthoff saw playtime in 30 games with La Crosse and used that experience to put together a solid season at Carroll University, earning a career-high .371 on-base percentage. Right-handed pitcher Riley Stiles took the circle in 11 games in Mankato, which led to her breakout spring at Lake Forest College, where she put up a 12-5 record with a 2.29 ERA.

Wausau’s roster will feature four arms for the season, each with varying skillsets. Elle Jarrett is the most experienced pitcher on the Ignite, throwing in 42 games over the past three seasons with Evansville. Right-hander Maren Sauvageau was a trusty reliever in her first season of softball at North Iowa Area Community College, pitching 55.1 innings with a 3.29 ERA and three saves. Hannah Trzinski offers a two-way skillset, throwing in seven games at Minnesota-Crookston while also leading the team in batting with a .327 average.

In the batter’s box, the Ignite look to drive runs home with reliable hitters, adding six players with a career average of .300 or better. Middle infielder Megan McGinnis was a key offensive piece of St. Mary’s (MN) first-ever DIII College World Series appearance this year, with a .399 average and 31 RBI. She also swiped 21 bags en route to a First-Team All-Region and All-Conference selection, and will bring her scoring ability to Wausau’s lineup.

It’s taken a lot of long hours and hard work to build her team from the ground up these past four months, and Estrada can already see how her team will look on opening day.

“I think they’re going to be having a lot of fun… We’re bringing in some really great personalities… they’re going to be loud… they’re going to be dancing on the bases… just all around some great energy that we’re going to bring to the field.”

Estrada and the Ignite will look to get the party started at home against the La Crosse Steam on Tuesday, June 10 at 6:35 CT, streaming live on Northwoods League+.

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Leveraging the 31-year success of the Northwoods League, the first for-profit Summer Collegiate Baseball League, Northwoods League Softball (NWLS) is the first for-profit Women’s Summer Collegiate Softball League beginning play in the Upper Midwest in the summer of 2024. The purpose of the League will be to develop players for their college, Olympic and future professional play. Teams will be promoted similar to minor league baseball teams, playing games in front of fans in a fun, friendly, family-oriented environment.