MOUNT VERNON – A blast and then a bloop with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning rallied Cornell's baseball team to a 6-5 walk-off victory over Midwest Conference in-state rival Grinnell Monday night at Ash Park Field.
 
With the Rams trailing by a run and down to their final out, Sean Alvarez came through in the clutch with a towering solo home run to right field that knotted the score at 5-5. It was the third hit of the night and fifth long ball of the season for Alvarez, who reached base safely in his 20th consecutive game.
 
Cornell's rally continued when Ryan Skala reached on a Grinnell error and advanced to second on a single by Cade Parks, bringing No. 5 hitter Esteban Perez to the plate. Perez lofted an 0-2 pitch into shallow right-center field untouched and pinch runner Jake Mitarotonda came around with the winning run.
 
The late heroics moved the Rams to 10-10 overall, 2-5 in the MWC. They'll be back home Wednesday to face Grinnell (9-14 overall, 2-5 MWC) in a 4 p.m. doubleheader to conclude the three-game series.
 
Sophomore right-hander Cameron Anderson gave the Rams an outstanding start on the mound, striking out nine Pioneers over seven scoreless innings. He left with Cornell ahead 4-0.
 
The Pioneers charged back for five runs in their final two at-bats. They scored three times in the top of the ninth, the last on a wild pitch that gave Grinnell a 5-4 lead.
 
Both teams finished with 12 hits apiece. Seth Beals and Parks both went 2-for-5 for the Rams. Alvarez accounted for Cornell's two extra-base hits.
 
Parks, Alec Boldt and Vince Zipperer each drove in one run.
 
Kaleb Whaley (4-1) earned the pitching win, working 1.2 innings in relief.