Wausau wins game one and drops game two to Madison in Sunday doubleheader. 

The Ignite are the first team to defeat Goliath in the Northwoods. Game one of the Sunday doubleheader saw Wausau take down Madison in impressive fashion with a 13-10 win. The Ignite would drop game two with a 13-5 loss to cap off the day. A split on a doubleheader against the best team in softball will be a win for the Ignite at the end of the day. 

 

How It Happened Game One

The Nightmares struck first in game one of their doubleheader. After a leadoff single and two outs on the board, a stolen base and an error made by the infield allowed the first run of the game to come across in favor of Madison. The Ignite followed by picking up where they left off after yesterday’s game. Marley Teasley reached with a one-out walk and Claire Calmes stretched for an infield single. With two outs, Mia Johnson stepped up and blasted a three-run no-doubter to left, putting the Ignite up 3-1 after the first.

The Nightmares were not down for long. With two outs on the board, a single and a home run tied up the ball game at three. The Ignite followed by going three up and three down. 

In the top of the third, Zoey Mills and the infield did their job to close with no runs and left two nightmares on base. The Ignite charged ahead, Megan McGinnis reached on a single, followed by Claire Calmes getting her second hit of the game. Brynn Daniel drew a walk to load the bases for Mia Johnson. Johnson blasted her fourth homer of the year, a grand slam, to put the Ignite up 7-3, closing the third inning. 

The fourth inning saw the Nightmares respond with a home run to bring them within one. The Ignite responded heavily. Taylor Liebelt struck a missile bouncing off the third baseman and was safe. Sydney Spear then advanced the runner on first with a single to center. Megan McGinnis found a single to bring home Liebelt. After a third pitching change by the nightmares, Marley Teasley brought home Spear with a sac fly. With two outs brynn daniel fresh off of the walk off the night before, struck a ball well over left field to tack on two more runs. The Ignite closed the fourth inning up 11-4.

Once again, the Nightmares retaliated with only a solo homer. The Ignite followed, going down 1-2-3 to close the fifth 11-5. 

The sixth once again saw the nightmares threaten with two runners on and a sac fly to bring home run number 6 for Madison. The Ignite were also not done on the Ignite. Megan McGinnis struck her third single of the day to reach safely. Marley Teasley then advanced to first on an error that pu mcginnis on third. With runners on the corners, Claire Calmes struck a double into center field, first scoring McGinnis, and after another miscommunication by the nightmare defense, Marley Teasley came home. 

The Ignite entered the seventh up 13-6. Once again, the nightmares fought back. Down to their last out, Maddison found a single, and an error in the infield led to another runner aboard and one run coming across. A single followed by a 2 RBI double brought the score within 4. Another single plated the Nightmares’ tenth run, but the rally would end there. With the 13-10 win, the Ignite handed the Nightmares their first loss in 2026. Zoey Mills threw a complete game in the effort, striking out four, while Mia Johnson hit two homers and brought home 7 RBI’s. 

 

How It Happened Game Two

Game two of the doubleheader, a different story. The Nightmares struck hard in the first inning with a single and brought home two off a home run. The Ignite went down scoreless after stranding Claire Calmes on a single from her. 

Addi Kluck, making her third appearance on the season, got her first strikeout on the night, having the Nightmares go three up and three down. The Igniteresponded with a Mia Johnson single and a Kayla Preiss double to put two runners in scoring position. Mia Buske plated Johnson with a sac fly. The Ignite stranded two but got on the board 2-1 after the second. 

The third inning saw another great performance from the defence, with the nightmares going scoreless and putting the momentum in the hands of the Ignite. After two outs, Brynn Daniel reached on a double, and Mia Johnson tied the game with a single to right field. Riley Schwisow acquired her first hit of the day to bring up Kalya Preiss. Preiss struck a single to center field, bringing home Johnson to put the ignite up 3-2. Wausau went on to strand two runners. 

A leadoff homer for the nightmares tied up the game again. Quinn Marnocha reached on a single, and Megan McGinnis advanced Marnocha to third with another single that snuck through the nightmare outfield. A sac fly from Claire Calmes scored Marnocha, and Wausau took back a one-run lead, closing the fourth inning. 

Madison cracked the game open in the fifth with 5 runs off of well-placed hits. The Ignite saw both Johnson and Priess on base following a Hit by pitch and a walk. Both were left on.

The Nightmares, up 8-4, scored another run off a solo homer. The Ignite saw a fifth single on the day from Megan McGinnis and Marley Teasly reach on an error. A Claire Calmes walk loaded the base, and a Brynn Daniel walk brought one run across. A pitch by Madison saw the next three outs come and go, with the ignite stranding 3 to end the inning down 9-5.

The seventh saw the nightmares add four runs of insurance with a bases loaded tripple plating three and a single plating another. The Ignite went down in order, losing game two of the doubleheader 13-5. 

 

Stats and Facts

• Wausau handed Madison their first loss in 17 games this year, the Nightmares’ first loss since July 29th, 2025. 
• Brynn Daniel leads the team with 5 home runs and holds a 15-game on-base streak, ending her season in Wausau. She also holds the second most walks in the woods with 12. 
• Megan McGinnis ends her second season in Wausau with a .491 average and 28 hits, both second best in the Northwoods, and 7 doubles, tied for first in the Northwoods. 

 

Coming Up Next

Wausau has three off days to relax as the first half of the season comes to an end. The Ignite will start the second half with four games in Grand Forks. Game One will be Thursday, July 2nd, with first pitch set for 7:05 pm on Flo Sports. 

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.