MOORHEAD, Minn. – Home runs from junior Lexie Kennedy and sophomore Madison Paige and solid pitching performances from freshman Becky Berth and sophomore Tori White helped the Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team to sweep Concordia College, 6-1 and 6-2 on Tuesday on the Concordia campus in Moorhead, Minn.

MSUM improved to 13-23 with the two wins while Concordia fell to 4-28.

"Becky and Tori did a good job on the mound keeping their offense in check," MSUM head coach Kelsey Fehl said. "We were able to come up with a big inning in each game offensively. Maddie and Lexie came up with some huge hits for us."

In the opener, Paige was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer. Kennedy homered while sophomore designated hitter Payton Gaber was 1-for-4 with two RBI. Freshman first baseman Ashley McCance was 1-for-2 with a run scored while sophomore third baseman Emma Dummer was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Freshman right fielder Elizabeth Johnson was 1-for-3 while senior center fielder Aunica Novacek scored a run.

Berth pitched one of the best games of the season, allowing one earned run in seven innings. She struck out seven and walked none and allowed only four hits.

A six-run second inning broke the game open for MSUM.  Kennedy led off the second with a homer. Dummer singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Novacek walked. Two outs later, both runners moved ahead on a wild pitch. McCance was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gaber delivered a clutch two-out hit, a single, to make it 3-0 MSUM. Paige then delivered the crushing blow of the inning, a three-run blast to right-center, to push the lead to 6-0.

That was plenty for Berth, who didn't surrender a run until the seventh inning. Her seven strikeouts were one short of a career high.

In Game 2, Paige was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Kennedy was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer. Junior shortstop Taylor Roddie was 2-for-4 with a run scored while Dummer and Johnson had hits. Freshman Kylie Lange had a stolen base.

White allowed just two runs (one earned) in seven innings, striking out four while walking two. She allowed just three hits.

MSUM got on the board in the third as Johnson, who reached on an error, scored on Paige's RBI single. The Dragons added another run in the fourth when Johnson's bloop single scored Dummer, who had walked earlier in the inning. Concordia came back to tie the game at 2-2.

The Dragons came up big in the sixth. Johnson reached on an error and was sacrificed to second by McCance. A groundout moved her to third. Paige again delivered with a big two-out hit, hitting a single to score Johnson with the winning run. Roddie followed with a single and Kennedy then added key insurance runs with a three-run homer to make it 6-2. White kept the Cobbers off the board in the seventh to preserve the win.

MSUM returns to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action on Wednesday at the University of Mary. The doubleheader begins at 2 p.m. in Bismarck, N.D.