Ignite strike five homers in 19-9 record-breaking win over Steam

The Ignite broke their own run record by 5. In their 19-9 win over the La Crosse Steam, the Ignite broke their run record in a game originally set in 2025 with their 16-5 win over the La Crosse Steam on July 25th. Strap in for this one, folks; it’s a wild ride. 

How It Happened.

Maya Rudy (Benedictine) got her second start on the season and, with the help of the fence, sent the Steam three up and three down. The Ignite struck first and hard with a Megan McGinnis (St. Mary’s MN) leadoff double, followed by an RBI single from Marley Teasley (Washington). Brynn Daniel (Northwestern State) drew a walk, and with two outs, Riley Schwisow (Northwestern State) hit her second home run of the year to make the score 4-0 after inning one. 

The Steam collected a run back off of a single and an RBI double. Bringing the score within three. This lasted for all of a few minutes before the Ignite scored 10. Quinn Marnoch (SDSU) went aboard with an error, followed by a McGinnis triple. Marley Teasley flew out to put up an out on the board, but advanced the runners. Claire Calmes (UW-Madison) smacked her third homer of the year, bringing home Marnocha and McGinnis. Brynn Daniel followed with a single to left. Mia Johnson (UW-Parkside) and Riley Schwisow advanced on walks to load the bases. Kayla Priess (Butler) struck the Ignite’s first grand slam of the season for her second hit in Wausau. The Ignite didn’t stop there. Mia Buske (SDSU) singled and was brought home with a Quinn Marnocha triple. Megan McGinnis advanced to first on a fielder’s choice and brought home Marnocha. Marley Teasley drew a walk in her second at bat of the inning, and multiple changes defensively by the Steam were followed up by a Claire Calmes sac fly to bring home McGinnis. The Ignite led the Steam 14-1 after two innings. The Ignite scored ten runs on six hits, two errors, and three different Steam pitchers.

The steam was down but not out. They roared back with a seven-run inning for themselves off of 7 hits and an error. The inning was followed by going three up and three down to close the third inning 14-8.

The fourth saw the Steam stranded two runners on base with Riley Stiles (Lake Forrest) having come in for relief of Rudy. The inning was scoreless, also leaving two runners on base. 

The fifth inning saw La Crosse launch a solo homer for themselves, closing the top of the inning 14-9. Wausau wasn’t completely done scoring yet either. Mia Johnson sent a missile off the right-field wall and hauled to third for a triple. Taylor Liebelt (Illinois State), pinch-hitting for Schwisow, entered and brought home Johnson with a single for herself. Then the unexpected happened. La Terra Foster-Frison (Michigan State), who had joined the team only five hours earlier, crushed a home run on her first at bat in an Ignite jersey, rounding the score to 17-9 after 5 innings.

Stiles went back to work in the sixth, not allowing runs anymore. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Claire Calmes, in her fourth at bat of the day, drew a walk. Brynn Daniel smashed her fourth homer of the season to run-rule-walk-off the Lacrosse Steam 19-9. 

Stats and Facts

• The Ignite tied the record for most home runs in a game with 5
• The Wausau Ignite broke their run record of 14 runs in a game with 19 runs. 
• Riley Stiles is tied for second in wins (4) in the Northwoods League
• Megan McGinnis ends her Wausau campaign with 23 hits, enough for third in the League and a League-leading seven doubles. 
• Brynn Daniel extends her on-base streak to 15 games. *following completion of 6/22 Minot game

Coming Up Next

Wausau will host the Madison Nightmares on Sunday, the 28th of June, for a doubleheader. First pitch for game one is set for 1:05 pm on Flo Sports, with game two beginning 30 minutes after the completion of game one. 

You can stay up to date with the Ignite by visiting ignitesoftball.com and catching all games live on Flo Sports or select games on All Women’s Sports Network.

 

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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.