MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's baseball team slugged three home runs in a 15-8 Game 2 victory to salvage a Midwest Conference South Division home split with first-place Illinois College Sunday at Ash Park.

The heavy-hitting Blueboys scored 11 runs in the middle innings of their 12-8 win in the opener.   

Illinois College (15-14 overall, 12-5 MWC) took four of six games from the Rams (10-18 overall, 7-7 MWC) in a high-scoring series that saw the teams combine for 166 total runs.

Cornell has 10 division games remaining over the final two weeks with Illinois College, Monmouth (11-7) and Grinnell (6-5) all ahead of the Rams in the South standings.

The Rams used the long ball to build an early 6-0 lead in Game 2. Cornell got a solo home run from Zach Stone (SR/Coralville, Iowa) and a two-run shot from Nathan White (SR/Union Grove, Wis.) in the second inning. Zac Stallman (FR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) launched a three-run homer in the third.

After the Blueboys came back to tie it at 7-7, Cornell regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Rams pulled away with six more tallies in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run double from Peyton Berthel (SR/Davenport, Iowa).

Berthel went 3-for-5 with two doubles, three runs and two RBIs. Caleb Sass (SR/Iowa City, Iowa), Stallman and White had two hits apiece for the Rams, who delivered nine extra-base hits in the game. Sass notched his 14th multi-hit game of the season.

Brett Potter (SO/Glendale Heights, Ill.) (2-1) earned the pitching win in 0.2 innings of relief. Chad Dzierba (SO/Valparaiso, Ind.) struck out five over two innings.

Game 2 got away from the Rams during Illinois College's seven-run fourth inning. Cornell freshman starter Evan Parshall (FR/Riverside, Calif.) (2-1) had struck out six consecutive batters prior to the Blueboys breaking through in the fourth.

Stone and Stallman both collected two hits and two RBIs for the Rams, who stranded 14 runners in the game. James Kent (SO/Phoenix, Ariz.), who added two hits, drove a deep ball to right-center field that was caught on the warning track with the bases loaded in the eighth and the Rams trailing 11-8.

Freshman Aiden Rosenthal (FR/Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) gave the Rams three scoreless innings in relief, fanning three.

Coming up – The Rams play host to in-state rival Grinnell for a single nine-inning game Wednesday at Ash Park. First pitch is 7 p.m.