MOUNT VERNON – Peyton Souhrada crunched a two-out, 3-2 pitch over the centerfield fence for a first-inning grand slam in Game 2 of Sunday's Midwest Conference softball doubleheader against Beloit.
 
That was only a snippet of Souhrada's sensational Senior Day as the Rams celebrated a 7-1, 17-8 sweep at Van Metre Family Softball Field.
 
Souhrada went single, double, home run, home run, double and single in her final six at-bats. A gargantuan Game 2 performance saw the left-handed slugger go 4-for-4 with her first two homers of the season, four runs and seven RBIs.
 
Coach Robin Brand's Rams (17-11 overall, 5-5 MWC) collected 31 hits in the two games – fueled by five homers – and surged back into postseason contention, now one game behind fourth-place Monmouth (6-4 MWC) who they will face on Wednesday.
 
Souhrada was joined by Aubrey Hendrickson, Daelynn Rhoades, Katie Nelson, Monet Roelle and student manager Charlotte McHughs in an on-field senior recognition prior to Game 1. They all made it a day to remember.
 
Rhoades (5-3) tossed five shutout innings of three-hit ball in the opener. The Rams tallied five consecutive hits during a decisive four-run fifth frame, highlighted by an RBI triple from Linnea Drever and RBI doubles from Elise Oleson and Souhrada that put Cornell ahead 6-0.
 
Drever jacked her fifth homer of the season earlier in the game and finished with two RBIs. Brooke Furman doubled, tripled and scored one run. Corrin Kennedy and Souhrada also had two hits apiece.
 
Souhrada accounted for 11 total bases in Game 2, one shy of the school record. She connected for her second collegiate grand slam in the bottom of the first, and blasted a solo homer her next at-bat in the third.
 
The Rams racked up 10 extra-base hits in the nightcap, capped by Brianna Risley's three-run homer in the fifth that stopped the game via mercy rule. Risley went 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs.
 
Winning pitcher Lauren Summers (4-3) helped her cause at the plate with a double, homer and two RBIs. Roelle and Oleson posted three hits apiece, while Roelle added two RBIs. Furman chipped in two hits.  
 
Cornell led 9-8 before breaking it open with three runs in the fourth and five more in the fifth.
 
Coming up – The Rams play host to Monmouth (13-19 overall, 6-4 MWC) in a key conference doubleheader at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Mount Vernon.