The Albert Lea baseball team used a doubleheader sweep of Rochester Century Tuesday at Hayek Field to keep pace with the logjam near the top of the Big Nine Conference.

The Tigers (8-2, 7-2 Big Nine) shut Century out 9-0 in the first game and picked up a 6-3 victory in the second game behind strong pitching from senior Jordan Cooper and junior Cole Sorenson.

Cooper threw a four-hit shutout in the first game for his third victory of the season and struck out six as he battled through seven innings.

“That was Jordan’s best outing of the year,” said Albert Lea head coach Joe Sczublewski. “He had better balance on the mound and that helped him get ahead in the count.”

Albert Lea’s offense continued to shine after a 10-hit performance against Austin with nine hits against the Panthers. After going 4-for-4 with three RBIs Friday against the Packers, senior Jordan Mondeel led the way with a 3-for-4 performance and two RBIs and senior Luke Grossman hit a two-run blast in fifth inning to help lift Albert Lea.

Sorenson continued his hot streak at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance with two doubles and an RBI after he went 2-for-4 with five RBIs Friday.

“This was a very good afternoon for us,” said Tigers head coach Joe Sczublewski.

Albert Lea jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second game and held on as Century started a late rally in the seventh inning.

The Panthers cut the lead to 6-2 after the sixth and made it 6-3 in the seventh and had two runners on when Sorenson got Matthew Mills to fly out to center to end the game.

Sorenson cruised through the first three innings and worked out of jams in the final three innings by picking up strikeouts. Sorenson got all five of his strikeouts in the last three innings.

The Panthers (3-4, 3-4 Big Nine) entered the games tied with Albert Lea with two losses, and now the Tigers are tied with Mayo, Winona, Owatonna and Mankato West with two losses in the conference.

Albert Lea plays Winona Thursday at Hayek Field. The Winhawks rallied in the seventh inning to beat the Tigers 8-7 last time in Winona.

Albert Lea 9, Century 0, Game 1

Century 000 000 0 — 0 4 1

Albert Lea 101 223 x — 9 9 0

WP—Jordan Cooper 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 6 K

LP—Mitch Brown 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Albert Lea 6, Century 3, Game 2

Century 000 101 1 — 3 9 2

Albert Lea 013 110 x — 6 6 2

WP—Cole Sorenson 7 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

LP—Ater Manyang 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K