MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/28/07)-- Concordia scored three times in the final two innings of the second game against Hamline to come from behind and seize a series split with the Pipers on Saturday in Moorhead. Hamline won 8-1 in the opener but then a Maddie Haroldosn two-run home run in the nightcap helped the Cobbers claim a 3-2 win.

Both teams can come away with a positive spin on the split. Concordia earns a split with one of the top four teams in the conference and remains in the hunt to post their first non-losing MIAC record since the 2002 season. CC is now 8-10 in conference play and 12-18 overall. With the win in the first game, Hamline clinches their third MIAC playoff berth in the last four years. The Pipers were aided by a Gustavus sweep over St. Ben's on Saturday. Hamline and the Blazers had been locked in a battle for the fourth, and final, spot in the league tournament. HU finishes the MIAC regular season with a 13-8-1 mark. They also moved to 20-13-1 overall.

The opener was all hamline as they scored a single run in the first inning and then four more times in the third to take a 5-0 lead into the fourth frame. The Pipers added three more in the top of the seventh before Concordia was finally able to break onto the scoreboard with a lone run in the last of the seventh.

Hamline outhit Concordia 7-4 in the opener. The Cobbers had four different players collect one hit each. Kelli Niess, Amanda Johnson, Laura Johnson and Amanda Michaleson all hit safely in the game. Laura Johnson drove in the team's only run.
Jill Reinert went all seven innings on the mound for CC. She allowed eight runs, only four of which were earned and seven hits. The bright spot for Reinert is that she struck out 10 batters in the game and is now only 16 more K's away from breaking the school's single-season strikeout mark.

Hamline was led by Grace Weinreich at the plate and Theresa Boleen on the mound. Weinreich went 2-for-4, scored two runs and drove in a run. Boleen allowed only the one earned run and four hits while striking out eight in her team-leading 12th win of the season.

The Pipers threatened to match the script from the first game in the early stages of the finale. They scored a run in the first inning and then let Boleen shut down the Cobber offense.

Concordia freshman pitcher Erin Johnson refused to let the Pipers run away with the game. She kept the Hamline offense off-balance throughout the game and kept the Cobbers close until the final two innings.

After Hamline score another run in the top of the sixth inning, the chances for a Cobber split looked dim entering the home half of the inning. Laura Johnson started the inning with a single to center field. The next two batters were retired by Boleen, which set the stage for Haroldson's dramatic roundtripper. With Johnson on second base, Haroldson hammered a pitch over the left field fence to tie the game at 2-2 and sent the crowd into a frenzy. For Haroldson it was her first collegiate home run.

Erin Johnson set down Hamline in the top half of the inning. The only trouble in the frame came when Ashley Anderberg doubled with two outs and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Johnson retired the next batter to set up another walkoff seventh inning for CC.

Michaelson walked to start the inning. After a blown sacrifice attempt, Niess legged out one of her three hits in the game to advance Michaelson to second base. Erin Johnson then flied out to the shortstop. With two outs, Michaelson stole third base to put the winning run only 60 feet away. Laura Johnson ended the game by hitting a hard ground ball that the third baseman was unable to come up with and the ball rolled into left field to score Michaelson.

The winning run in the bottom of the seventh marked the third time in the past two weeks that Concordia has won the game in their final two at-bats.

Niess was 3-for-4 in the second game and 4-for-8 in the series to up her team-leading season average to .415.

Erin Johnson picked up her first collegiate win by pitching seven innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs.

Concordia will finish off the season by playing at Carleton on Monday, Apr. 30 at

2 p.m. and then returning home to host second-place Gustavus on Tuesday, May 1 at

4 p.m.