The Madison Night Mares softball team begin their second season this week. After a 14-12 road win over Wausau Ignite Wednesday, The Nightmares will face the same team in their home opener at the Duck Pond in Madison at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Ignite are in their inaugural season, becoming the fifth team in the Northwoods Softball League, which is a pioneering summer collegiate fastpitch league. Most of the players are in college or are recent high school graduates, and use the experience to launch professional careers or just improve for their college careers.
The Night Mares have a new coach this season, Lexi Godwin. Godwin is a former standout player at North Carolina, where she had 22 hits, 26 RBI and five home runs in 2024. She was also a graduate assistant on the Oklahoma Sooners’ softball team, which has won four consecutive national championships.
“It excites me to be coming to a community that has already shown so much support for our game,” Godwin said in a statement when she was hired in December. “It is an unbelievable effort that the community of Madison is making to grow our sport.”
In addition to Godwin, the Nightmares boast several new players but also feature returning players who are excited to play in front of the home fans for a second time.
Outfielder Danielle Lucey is returning for her second season. Lucey also plays for the University of Wisconsin, where she will enter her Junior year after the Night Mares finish their season.
“I grew up in Madison, so I’ve been to a bunch of Mallards baseball games growing up,” Lucey said. “I never thought I’d have an opportunity to play on this field. So, just for a local girl from Wisconsin to be able to play softball with an awesome fan base and crowd is wonderful.”
Hilary Blomberg, a catcher, is also returning.
“I think we’re ready for a second year of competition,” said Blomberg, who also plays for Wisconsin. “I’m looking to win a lot of games and have fun with my new teammates.”
The Nightmares opened practice to the media this week as players showcased their talents in the humid June air. The Nightmares’ black uniforms were eye-catching, as is the newly expanded Duck Pond.
Madison’s fans have embraced the Night Mares as their own, much like they have the Mallards, now in their 25th season. Blomberg recalled how last year ended at the Duck Pond with all of the fans standing and cheering Madison’s newest home team.
“They’re the best,” Blomberg said of the Duck Pond’s crowds. “I’m doing this league again because it was such an amazing experience to be loved by them and watched by them. They really provide an audience for women’s sports.”
That audience- and women’s sports, for that matter- wasn’t always there. It’s a fact that was not lost on Jan DiDominick, a woman in her 70s, who sat in the stands watching the Night Mares during their open practice.
“Hell no,” DiDominick said when asked if there had been anything like the Nightmares when she was growing up. “Girls were never allowed to play anything like this.”
DiDominick grew up in the Chicago area and said as a youth, she was very into sports. But aside from some tennis, possibly a little bit of swimming, and maybe some golf, there was nothing for girls to play.
And they certainly were not allowed to play with the competitive fire and zeal the Night Mares players display.
“You had to be very lady-like in all your sports then,” she said. “There was nothing then except for a couple things at the college level that were very lady-like and I guess that’s great, you know, but girls didn’t compete in sports.”
DiDominick said she was enthralled watching the women’s College World Series this year and wondered if there was anything like that locally.
“I read about the new coach here, and I read about this team,” DiDominick said. “This is fabulous for women.”
The Nightmares went 25-17 last season but ended the year with a bitter loss to the rival La Crosse Steam. The Night Mares are out for a championship and revenge this year.
“I think we have a great team,” Lucey said. “Hopefully we win this thing. I know we came close last year, so this would be nice to get some revenge. I think a championship is up there for us. I think everyone feels like that’s on their bucket list this summer.”
Anyone hoping to buy tickets to a Nightmares game can do so here.The team also has a large merchandise selection including special jerseys and hats to celebrate Pride month, as well as specialized team jerseys designed to replicate a work of art from Sun Prairie native Georgia O’Keefe.
