Beseman, Jensen And Sele Lead Cobbers In Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. (3/04/13)—Concordia opened its 2013 season by going 1-7 in Tucson, Ariz. Over their annual Spring Break training trip. The Cobbers were led by Paige Beseman, Mackenzie Jensen and Kaia Sele who all hit over .270 over the course of the eight games.

Under first-year head coach Mike Reese, the Cobbers played its first four games against tough NAIA opponents. Using the "baptism by fire" approach, CC then settled in and played competitive games in the final four contests of the trip.

Beseman, the team's starting third baseman, played in all eight games and led the team with a .346 average. She hit safely in the final five games and had multiple-hit games in the last three. Her high-water mark came in the Cobbers' lone win against Viterbo when she went 3-for-4 and scored two runs and drove in a pair as well. She wound up scoring four of the team's 13 runs on the trip. Beseman led the team on the trip in hits, on-base percentage, runs and total bases.  

Jensen is one six newcomers on this year's roster and hit safely in four of the six games she appeared in. She hit .333 and drove in two runs.

Sele, a two-time All-MIAC first baseman, went 6-for-22 (.273) and played every inning of every game in Arizona. She had two of the team's five extra base hits and had the lone triple in a 3-1 loss against William Penn. She had a pair of two-hit games and went 2-for-4 against Viterbo in the 10-7 victory.

The Cobbers split the pitching duties among three players. Freshman Joanna Carlson came away with a team-low 5.50 ERA and pitched 18.0 innings. Senior Becca Conant picked up the only win when she came on in relief against Viterbo and went the last 4.1 innings and allowed only two earned runs.

Concordia will now have a 17-day break before returning to action inside the Vadnais Dome in St. Paul. The Cobbers will square off against Jamestown College in a doubleheader on Thursday, Mar. 21 beginning at 8 a.m.