GRINNELL, Iowa - By beating Cornell College 5-4 in the opening game of Tuesday's doubleheader, the Grinnell College softball team snapped a 22-game losing streak to the Rams dating back to 2007.

And by beating the Rams 4-2 in the second game, the Pioneers swept Cornell in a doubleheader for just the third time and the first time since 1996.
The wins also kept the Pioneers in the thick of the Midwest Conference race as they improved to 6-2 in league play and 9-7 overall. Cornell fell to 4-8 in the MWC and 14-14 in all games.

Mya Davis '21 had an incredible offensive performance for the Pioneers, tying a school record for hits in a game with four in the nightcap while combining to go 6-of-7 at the plate in the two games with four RBIs. Davis was 2-for-3 in the opener with two doubles, while Maddie Matsubara '22 and Darice Wheeler '21 each had two hits. Wheeler had a double among her totals, and helped herself pitching with an eight-strikeout performance in picking up the win.

Grinnell jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first when Wheeler had an RBI single through the left side and Davis sent a run-scoring double to right-center. After Cornell scored, the Pioneers built a 5-1 lead with three runs in the third as Ashley Wehrenberg '19 pushed across a run on a sacrifice bunt, Emily Jordan '19 hit an RBI single to left and Wheeler belted an RBI double to left.

But Wheeler's fourth-inning pitching performance was just as critical as her hitting. After giving up two runs and the bases loaded with none out, Wheeler struck out the next two batters and induced a groundout to stop the Rams in their tracks. Cornell got one run in the seventh before the Pioneers closed out the win.

Davis was 4-of-4 at the plate with three RBIs, a triple and double in the second game, while Leila Bishop-Parise '21 singled twice. Elle Adams '22 continued her impressive pitching performance, giving up eight hits and fanning two batters in getting the win.

Davis was responsible for Grinnell's first three runs with an RBI single up the middle in the first, an RBI triple to right in the third and a run-scoring double to left-center in the fifth. Jordan plated another run in the fifth on a groundout.

Cornell managed to score twice in the fifth inning but could get no closer as Grinnell preserved the sweep.

Grinnell's all-time career bests list saw plenty of change on Tuesday. Jordan ranks third in games started with 126 and Wehrenberg is sixth with 124, while those two are fifth and eighth, respectively, in games played with 127 and 124. Wehrenberg is also second in career walks with 46 and ninth in fielding chances with 468. Wheeler moved up several career categories, including walks (fourth with 42), runs scored (sixth with 68) and doubles (ninth with 20). Bishop-Parise is now ninth in career stolen bases with 19.

Next up for the Pioneers is a doubleheader at Illinois College on Friday, starting at noon.