MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's baseball team had a tough close to its home season Thursday night, falling 10-6 and 15-4 to Midwest Conference South Division rival Grinnell at Ash Park.

The Rams (14-22 overall, 11-11 MWC) dug themselves an 8-0 hole in the opening game, and then saw a competitive Game 2 get away late during a 10-run eighth inning by Grinnell (12-8 overall, 12-8 MWC).

Cornell's No. 1 and 2 hitters Caleb Sass (SR/Iowa City, Iowa) and Peyton Berthel (SR/Davenport, Iowa) both extended impressive streaks of reaching base safely to 26 and 23 games, respectively. Sass' two runs gave him 41 this season, the seventh-highest total by a Ram.

The Rams rallied for five runs in the seventh inning of Game 1, cutting the deficit to 8-5. The Pioneers took momentum back with a pair of two-out runs in the top of the eighth and closed it out.

Jeremy Canfield (SR/Downers Grove, Ill.) and Zac Stallman (FR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) led the Rams with two hits apiece. Stallman recorded a pair of doubles.

In Game 2, Cornell received a spark from freshman third baseman Aiden Monce (FR/Wheaton, Ill.), who went 3-for-4 with a run and three RBIs from the No. 3 slot in the lineup. Monce belted a two-run homer to left in the third inning that tied it at 2-2.

Monce delivered an RBI double in the fifth, pulling the Rams even at 3-3.

The Pioneers answered with two runs in the sixth to take the lead, and then broke the game open with 10 runs on seven hits in the eighth.

Freshman pitcher Evan Parshall (FR/Riverside, Calif.) gave the Rams five solid innings, allowing only one earned run and striking out five.

Berthel finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Sophomore James Kent (SO/Phoenix, Ariz.) tallied his team-leading 32nd RBI of the season.

Coming up – Cornell concludes the season Saturday with an 11 a.m. doubleheader at Grinnell.