May 3, 2010

Story courtesy of Madonna Sports Information and Athletic Communications

LIVONIA, Mich. - On a day where No. 24 Madonna University (Mich.) captured its third straight Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference regular season title, junior Jess Irwin (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) made national history. She became just the second pitcher in NAIA softball to pass the 1,000 career strikeout mark as MU split a doubleheader with Cornerstone University (Mich.), winning game one 12-0 before seeing a bottom of the seventh rally come up just short, falling 3-2 in the night cap on April 29 at University Field.

The Crusaders, by virtue of their regular season crown, will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference championship, slated for May 6-7 at Bailey Park in Battle Creek, Mich.

Irwin needed 13 strikeouts coming into the day. After posting 11 in her 10th career no hitter in the opener, she picked up seven more in game two after coming into the game in relief. Irwin now has 1,005 career strike outs and trails only Rachel Murray of Union (Tenn.) - who amassed 1,257 strikeouts from 1999-2002 - for the top spot all-time nationally.

Senior Brittney Scero (Canton, Mich./Canton) collected three hits and five runs batted in on the day including one of two Madonna grand slams in the second inning of game one. Freshman Erica Landess (Carleton, Mich./Airport) registered the other Crusader grand slam as part of a two-hit day. Sophomore Hallie Minch (Garden City, Mich./Garden City) also connected on a home run in game one, going 2-for-2 with three runs scored while junior Ashley Shay (Garden City, Mich./Divine Child Catholic) was 4-for-7 with on the day.

In the opener the Crusaders went quietly in the bottom of the first before exploding for 11 runs in the bottom of the second to take a commanding 11-0 lead. Minch got the inning started, working a one out walk before singles from freshman Arielle Cox (Newport, Mich./Jefferson) and senior Rachael Kethe (Lenox, Mich./Richmond/Western Michigan) loaded the bases. A wild pitch allowed Minch to score for a 1-0 lead. A walk to junior Kelly Lesko (Trenton, Mich./Trenton) reloaded the bases and Scero unloaded them with her second home run in as many days to make it 5-0 MU. Fellow senior Cat Sidor (Livonia, Mich./Churchill) singled, followed by a Shay double to right center and a walk to junior Tara LaMilza (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Regina Catholic) loaded the bases for Landess.

The rookie third baseman emptied the bases with her second home run of the season that made it 9-0 Madonna. Minch then doubled in her second at-bat of the inning and after Cox reached base when strike three was dropped on her strike out, a ground out from Kethe scored Minch and made it 10-0. Lesko followed Kethe with a single through the right side that scored Cox for an 11-0 cushion.

The lead grew to 12-0 in the fourth when Minch connected on her fourth home run of the season, this one a solo shot to right.

Irwin allowed just two runners - coming on walks in the first and fourth innings - and struck out the side in the fifth to move to 25-3 on the season. The Crusader right hander owns the top three strikeout totals in MU single-season history and set the career mark last season and continues to add to it with each additional strikeout. Last season she became just the fourth pitcher in NAIA history to record 400-plus strike outs in season before making history again today.

Cornerstone struck for three runs off of MU starter Minch in the top of the third of the night cap. The first four Golden Eagles reached base with Mandee Michielsen, Beth Wyckoff and Jessica Kuhlman all collecting RBIs before head coach Al White summoned Irwin from the bullpen. Irwin struck out the side, stranding Kuhlman at second, with her strikeout of Madison Bucilla going into the books as out number two of the inning and strike out number 1000 for her career.

CU hurler Dinah Gruppen kept the Crusaders at bay and left the bases loaded in the fourth to keep MU off of the scoreboard.

MU rallied with two outs in the last of the seventh as sophomore pinch hitter Kiley Thornton (Ida, Mich./Ida/Owens CC) reached on a single to center and came home on a Scero double to left center to make it a 3-1 game. Scero moved to third on a wild pitch and a single from Sidor scored Scero to trim the MU deficit to a single run at 3-2. Shay then reached on a bloop single to center and pinch runner Krista Messer (Taylor, Mich./Kennedy) advanced to third as the potential tying run.

LaMilza worked a seven-pitch at-bat but Gruppen won the battle, getting LaMilza to pop out to Bucilla at third to end the game and hand the Crusaders a split.

Minch took the loss, falling to 13-6 on the year.