SOLIZ SELECTED FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE SEASON, BOTH TO PARTICIPATE ON GREAT LAKES TEAM
WAUSAU, WI- This season, the Wausau Woodchucks will once again be represented in more than just the 2025 Northwoods League All-Star Game.
Next week, two Woodchucks players, Max Soliz Jr. (Kansas) and Noah Malone (Loyola Marymount) will represent Wausau in the 2025 Northwoods League Home Run Challenge on Tuesday, July 15, at Warner Park in Madison, WI. The event is part of the Northwoods League All-Star week festivities.
The Woodchucks are one of 11 baseball teams to be represented in the Home Run Challenge. Only the Woodchucks and Mallards have multiple baseball players from their respective teams in the event. The Woodchucks have now had seven plays participate in the Home Run Challenge since 2021, and multiple participants in each of the last three years.
Max Soliz Jr. becomes just the second Northwoods League player in the last five years to participate in the Home Run Challenge multiple times. The only other player to achieve the feat was Brendan Bobo from Wisconsin Rapids, who participated in both 2022 and 2023. Soliz is currently has nine home runs this summer, which is second among all Northwoods League players. He’s also coming into the event hot, hitting a home run in three of his last four starts.
Last year when Soliz participated in the Home Run Challenge, he was the first hitter that stepped to the plate. Soliz hit eight home runs in his round, but was not credited with his extra thirty seconds that he earned in his round. Nearly two hours later, Soliz stepped back up to the plate and hit four more home runs with his extra thirty seconds, ultimately finishing with 12, which was second best among all Great Lakes hitters.
Noah Malone is second on the Woodchucks with six home runs this season. In his first season in the Northwoods League, Malone became just the 24th hitter in league history to hit three home runs in a single game, when he accomplished the feat back on June 17 against Lakeshore. Malone has already hit a home run at Warner Park this year, a solo home run over the right-center field wall when he was playing against the Madison Mallards. Both Soliz will participate in the home run challenge and the All-Star Game next week.
Malone and Soliz aren’t the only representatives from Wausau in the Home Run Challenge this year. Wausau Ignite standouts Mia Johnson and Riley Schwisow have been selected as two of just six softball players participating in this year’s event. However, they will be participating against the Woodchucks in this event, as both Schwisow and Johnson will suit up for the Great Plains Division.
In last year’s Home Run Challenge, the Great Lakes Division beat the Great Plains 78-74 at IMG Field in Mankato, MN. Wausau outfielder Max Galvin (Miami) won the baseball MVP award for the event, hitting 15 home runs during his round, more than any other player.
This year’s Home Run Challenge will begin around 7:00 p.m. on July 15 at Warner Park, and fans can watch the event on NWL+. Below if the official press release from the Northwoods League regarding the event.
Nine inning competition will feature hitters from both baseball and Northwoods League Softball
Rochester, Minn. — The Northwoods League has announced the participants for the 2025 Northwoods League All-Star Home Run Challenge which will take place the day before the Northwoods League All-Star game on Tuesday, July 15 at Warner Park in Madison, Wisconsin.
Six participants from each of the Great Lakes and the Great Plains divisions will be joined by six players from the second season of Northwoods League Softball. The event, which will feature a nine-inning competition, will follow the completion of the Northwoods League Softball game between the Madison Night Mares and the Minot Honeybees which will start at 5:05 pm.
| Home Run Challenge Participants | ||||
| Great Lakes | Great Plains | |||
| Noah Malone | Wausau Woodchucks | Henry Allen | Minot Hot Tots | |
| MJ Sweeney | Madison Mallards | Jake Bechtel | Waterloo Bucks | |
| Noah Ruiz | Wisconsin Rapids Rafters | Maddox Haley | Rochester Honkers | |
| Mikey Bell | Madison Mallards | Ethan Surowiec | Duluth Huskies | |
| Jarren Sanderson | Fond du Lac Dock Spiders | Chayton Fischer | Badlands Big Sticks | |
| Max Soliz | Wausau Woodchucks | Matthew Pena | Willmar Stingers | |
| Hilary Blomberg | Madison Night Mares | Taylor Chillingworth | Minot Honeybees | |
| Emma Kavanagh | Madison Night Mares | Mia Johnson | Wausau Ignite | |
| Avary Makarewicz | La Crosse Steam | Riley Schwisow | Wausau Ignite | |
The format for the Home Run Challenge is below:
There will be 9 innings with each player having one half inning.
Away team (Great Plains) player bats first in the top of the inning, and home team player next (Great Lakes) in the bottom half of the inning.
Each player will receive 2 minutes to hit as many home runs as they can during their turn.
Each player will be allowed one timeout that they can take at any time during their 2:00, should they choose. Timeouts will be thirty seconds in length.
Should any contestant hit back-to-back home runs, they will be granted an additional :30 of time that will be added on after their original 2 minutes has completed. No timeouts will be granted during the bonus time session.
The Team that hits the most Home Runs will be declared the NWL HR Challenge Team Champions.
The Individual who hits the most home runs will be declared the NWL HR Challenge Individual Champion.
The 2025 Northwoods League All-Star Game will take place in Madison, Wisconsin, at Warner Park, home of the Madison Mallards and Madison Night Mares on Wednesday, July 16 at 6:35 PM. The game will also air on Northwoods League+.