Two Missouri Valley Conference softball teams produced milestone wins for their coaches this week. Illinois State swept a doubleheader against Indiana State to give coach Melinda Fischer her 800th career victory, while Evansville’s 4-3 win over Indiana propelled Gwen Lewis to her 500th win.

Fischer is the first conference coach to record 800 wins and only the 25th Division I coach to reach the milestone.

“It is the effort of many people, and I have been blessed to be around many talented people in my career,” Fischer said. “When you surround yourself with good people, good things happen. We have been up and down this season. I really did not even realize that it had happened until they announced it after the game.”

Fischer has coached the Redbirds since 1986, and she earned 32 of her victories at Eastern Illinois.

Also April 1, Lewis’ Aces produced a walk-off home run against the Hoosiers to give her the milestone.

“It’s kind of unique,” said Lewis. “I’ve been here basically my whole career. I’m committed to Evansville. This memorable win couldn’t have come against a better team.”

Lewis has coached the Aces since 1992 after a stint as an assistant at her alma mater, Indiana State.