The Albert Lea had no trouble taking care of Rochester Century Monday night in a doubleheader in Rochester.

The Tigers (7-2, 6-2 Big Nine) pulled off a sweep of the Panthers with a 6-3 victory in the first game and a 7-2 win in the second game.

The young Albert Lea squad was going to be tested at some point in the season and that time is this week. After beating Mayo 7-2 Saturday, the Tigers faced Century and finish with John Marshall Thursday in Albert Lea. Thus far the team hasn’t flinched against what is considered the class of the Big Nine.

Albert Lea got strong pitching in both games and some clutch hitting from different sources to earn another victory over a Rochester school.

“Everybody is taking their turn and that’s what you need,” Tigers head coach Joe Sczublewski said. “We’re getting good balance out of our lineup.”

Connor Kortan was one of the bats that powered the Albert Lea offense. Kortan came up with an RBI single in the first game to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead and then in the second game hit a bomb over the center field fence for a two-run homer.

Albert Lea never trailed in either game and jumped on Century early in both games.

The Tigers scored three runs with two outs in the first inning of the first game behind Kortan’s RBI single and Aaron Klatt’s two-run single. Albert Lea took a 5-0 lead in the fourth, but the Panthers came back for three in the bottom half.

Jordan Cooper picked up the win on the mound in his second start of the season. Cooper responded well from his first start in Faribault where he got knocked around a bit. He threw a complete game four-hitter, allowing three runs while walking one and striking out four.

“He had a really strong game,” Sczublewski said. “He looked a lot more composed out there.”

In the second game Klatt threw five sharp innings, giving up one run on three hits while striking out three and walking three.

Cody Hansen came on in the sixth inning and picked up the save. He struck out three and walked one in two innings of work.

Jordan Mondeel did his job as the leadoff man, reaching base three times on three base hits in the second game. He also came around to score twice.

Colby Strialeff connected for a two-run single in the seventh inning as the Tigers picked up the sweep.

Game 1

Albert Lea 6, Century 3

Albert Lea 300 200 1 — 6 9 0

Century 000 300 0 — 3 5 2

WP — Jordan Cooper 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Game 2

Albert Lea 7, Century 2

Albert Lea 120 002 2 — 7 7 3

Century 100 010 0 — 2 3 1

WP — Aaron Klatt 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K