LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Grinnell College's softball team hit the trifecta Friday.
 
The Pioneers knocked off nationally-ranked Lake Forest College, set a school record for wins AND remained alive in the Midwest Conference Tournament by going 1-1 on the day.
 
After opening the tourney with a 4-1 loss to Illinois College, Grinnell bounced back in a big way by defeating the No. 20 team in the NCAA Division III rankings. That pushed Grinnell's record to 24-13, breaking the school mark for victories in a season established in 2006, and snapped a 23-game losing streak to the Foresters dating back to 2006.
 
Grinnell will meet either Illinois College or Cornell College at 10 a.m. Saturday in an elimination game. A victory there would put the Pioneers in the championship round and within two wins of claiming the tourney title and earning the school's first-ever NCAA D-III National Tournament berth.
 
This marks the second time Grinnell has beaten a nationally-ranked team this season, having defeated Central College last month.
 
Maggie Remus '18 was masterful in the pitching circle against Lake Forest, throwing just like a player not ready for her collegiate career to be done. Delivering Grinnell's third shutout of the season, she gave up just three hits and gave the Foresters only their second shutout loss in 2018. It was Remus' fifth career shutout.
 
Grinnell managed six hits in the win, including two by Sidney Litke '19. Plus, the Pioneers played errorless ball after committing four errors in the morning.
 
The Pioneers scratched out solo runs in the third and fourth innings. In the third, Litke singled up the middle, took second on Kayla Morrissey's '18 single to left, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ashley Wehrenberg '19 and scored on Flynn Johnson's '21 sacrifice fly to center.
 
In the fourth, Mya Davis '21 walked and Andi Leff '18 was inserted as a pinch runner. Leff took second on Remus' sacrifice, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Litke's single up the middle.
 
Grinnell managed five hits, the same as the Lady Blues, in the opener. Both Johnson and Leila Bishop-Parise '21 had two hits for Grinnell.
 
The Lady Blues scored two runs in the first inning, another in the third and one more in the fifth.
 
Grinnell got its run in the sixth when Darice Wheeler '21 walked, took second on Johnson's single to left-center and crossed the plate when Bishop-Parise sent an RBI double to right-center.
 
Grinnell saw more movement on its career top 10 list. Morrissey leaped up to third in walks with 42 and Leff is ninth in runs scored with 64. Also, Morrissey moved up to seventh all-time in the MWC in career total bases with 270.
 
Morrissey, Bishop-Parise, Wheeler and Wehrenberg tied the Grinnell season record for games started with 37, Wheeler moved up to third in the MWC for walks in a season with 27 and the Pioneers are now fourth in MWC history for total bases in a season with 553 and fifth in hits with 359.