FORT WAYNE, Ind. - - The No. 17-ranked Madonna University softball team made history on Saturday (April 18) in its double header sweep at Indiana Tech by winning its 40^th and 41^st games of the season. MU won both games by finals of 2-1 at Memorial Park to establish the new record, surpassing the old mark of 39 set in 1994.

Jess Irwin (Monroe, Mich.) picked up the win in both games, firing a complete game in the opener, striking out eight while allowing just one run on four hits. Irwin threw the final two and two-thirds in the night cap, striking out three to improve to 23-5 on the year. Irwin's wins also moved her into second place all-time at MU with 47, just one behind all-time leader Jenny Tenyer (2000-03) and her 48 victories.

Kathleen Smiley (Wixom, Mich.) went 3-for-4 in the night cap while Tara LaMilza (St. Clair Shores, Mich.), Danielle Richardson (Flint, Mich.) and Brittney Scero (Canton, Mich.) each posted a pair of hits.

In the opener, it was Tech who got on the board first as Brittany Miller took an Irwin offering over the fence in the second to put the Warriors up 1-0.

It remained 1-0 in favor of IIT until the top of the seventh when Richardson and Ashley Shay (Garden City, Mich.) reached on back-to-back walks to open the frame. After a LaMilza bunt moved up Shay to second and pinch runner Mary Kate Setta (Grass Lake, Mich.) to third, Katie Cooley (Monroe, Mich.) ran for Shay. Tedi Johnston (New Boston, Mich.) then reached on a fielder's choice to first that cut Setta down at home for the second out of the inning. Cooley then stole home and in the ensuing fracas, Johnston came home as well to make it 2-1 MU.

Irwin sent the Warriors down in order in the bottom of the seventh for the come-from-behind win.

The night cap was much like the day's opener, a tightly contested affair that saw MU trail 1-0 after the third inning after a Tech single was followed by a double to put the home team up one.

The Crusaders tied the game in the sixth when Smiley - who had singled and moved up on a Kelly Lesko (Trenton, Mich.) sacrifice bunt - came home on a Scero single to make it 1-1.

Tech had a chance to win it in the seventh, putting runners at second and third with two outs but Irwin got Justine Brandt to pop out to Johnston at short to end the threat and send the game to extra innings.

Smiley hit a one-out single in the top of the middle and after stealing second, came all the way home on a Lesko double to put the Crusaders up 2-1.

MU returns to the friendly confines of University Field for its final eight regular season games, starting Sunday with a 1pm double header against Davenport.