MOUNT VERNON – Marissa Faletti went 5-for-5 at the plate and Miranda Keith collected eight RBIs as Cornell opened Midwest Conference play with a 17-3 (five innings), 6-5 softball sweep of Lawrence Saturday at Van Metre Family Softball Field.
 
The Rams (4-13 overall, 2-0 MWC) set the tone for the day with a 10-run, first-inning outburst in Game 1. Cornell thwarted a Vikings' seventh-inning threat in Game 2 to move to 4-0 on its home turf this season.
 
Faletti got the Rams going with an inside-the-park grand slam over the left fielder in the first inning of the opener. The leadoff batter scored three times and drove in four in only one official at-bat in Game 1.
 
Keith went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple and five RBIs. Olivia Richards and Erin Puck had two hits apiece, including a double. Richards drove in three runs, while Caitlin Babcock scored three times.
 
Left-hander Alyssa Pearson (2-7) earned the pitching win, allowing five hits and one earned run over four innings. She struck out three.
 
Pearson worked the final two innings to record the save in Game 2, which saw the Vikings (2-20 overall, 0-2 MWC) rally for two runs in the top of the seventh to trim the margin to 6-5. Lawrence had runners at second and third when second baseman Babcock made a nice diving stop of a ground ball for the final out.
 
Freshman pitcher Skylar McCartney-Puzio (2-1) picked up the win in the circle, yielding six hits and two earned runs over five innings. She struck out four and did not walk a batter.
 
Faletti continued her hot hitting, going 4-for-4 with a triple and two runs. Keith keyed a big five-run fifth inning with a three-RBI double to left that pushed the Rams ahead 6-2.
 
Puck added two more hits, giving her four for the doubleheader.  
 
Cornell plays host to Ripon (2-18, 0-2 MWC) Sunday for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon.