Concordia second baseman Amanda Johnson tries to turn a double play during the Cobbers

7-5, 5-3 sweep over St. Ben's on Saturday.

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/03/08)-- Concordia used a pair of two-out rallies to produce a big inning in each game and went on to sweep St. Ben's 7-5 and 5-3 on Saturday in Moorhead. The Cobbers scored five times after there were two outs in the fourth inning of the opener to post the win and then notched a pair of runs in the decisive sixth inning of game two to come away with the sweep.

The two victories cap Concordia's 2008 record at 10-28 overall and 7-15 in the MIAC. The sweep also helps the Cobbers jump over the Blazers in the final standings. CSB ends the year with a 6-15 mark in conference play which drops them into 10th place in the league standings. St. Ben's finishes off 2008 with a 12-20 overall mark.

Besides the two big wins for CC to end the year, the biggest storyline came from Concordia catcher Amanda Michaelson who went 3-for-6 on the day and finished the season with a .323 batting average. It is the first time in her career that she has posted a season batting total over the .300 mark. Senior second baseman Amanda Johnson, who played in her final two games in maroon and gold, did not hit a home run in the series and finished her four years with 11 total homers - one short of the CC school record.

Cobber sophomore pitcher Erin Johnson pitched both games and earned her eighth and ninth wins on the season. She struck out eight in the first game and then scattered 11 hits in the second to pick up the wins. In the nightcap she stranded nine CSB runners on base including the game-tying run in the top of the seventh inning.

Concordia scored all seven of their runs in the first game when there were two outs in the inning. In the third inning they led off the frame with back-to-back outs but then earned a walk and strung a pair of hits together to plate two runs. In the five-run fourth inning, Concordia posted four consecutive hits after there were two outs gone to break the game wide open. The biggest hit of the frame came from Emily Jensen who laced a triple to right field that scored two runs.

St. Ben's staged a late rally in the seventh inning. Down 7-2, the Blazers fought back to score three times in the inning before finally being retired on a ground ball that Michaelson tracked down and threw over to first base.

Concordia outhit St. Ben's 8-5 in the opener. CC received hits from seven different players with Michaelson being the only Cobber player with more than one hit. She drove in two runs. Jensen also drove in two runs and also scored a pair of runs.

The teams traded two-run first innings at the start of the second game and didn't score again until the bottom of the sixth inning. With the score tied at 2-2, the Cobbers scopred three times in the bottom of the sixth, two of which came when there were two outs in the frame. The big hit for CC in that inning came from the bat of leadoff hitter Jamie Odden who punched a base-hit into right field that scored the eventual game-winning run.

The Blazers made it interesting in the top of the seventh once again. They started the inning by getting a home run from Abby Richardson and then put two of the next three batters on base with a walk and a single. Erin Johnson then clamped the series shut by getting a fielder's choice ground out and a popup to second to end the series and the season.

The Cobbers were outhit in the second game 11-9. Odden, Amanda Johnson and Kylene Compton all had two hits in the game. Odden went 2-for-4 and drove in the all-important two runs in the sixth inning. Michaelson went 1-for-3 in the nightcap and extended her hitting streak to 12 games.