The Lake Forest College softball team swept a pair of five-inning games against Cornell College on Thursday, taking the opener 13-5 before overcoming a nine-run deficit and prevailing 22-12 in game two.

Sophomore first baseman/catcher Kyla Chevalier led the offensive surge, going 7-for-9 with a double, two home runs, five runs scored, and nine driven in on the day. She hit a two-run homer in the second inning of game one and then sent Forester fans home happy with a game-ending grand slam in game two.

The first two batters in Lake Forest's lineup, sophomore center fielder Emmie Nyen and sophomore third baseman Cadence Dempsey, combined to reached base safely via a hit or walk in 14 of their 18 plate appearances in the two games combined. Dempsey homered for the third time this season in the first inning of game two, Nyen belted the first of her career in the fourth, and they each scored five times during the doubleheader.

Junior shortstop Kaylee Purgatorio also cleared the fence in the second game and sophomore first baseman Makayla Tarasiewicz was 4-for-4 with a program record-tying three doubles in the contest.

As a team the Foresters posted a .557 batting average, 1.000 slugging percentage, and .630 on-base percentage in the two games combined.

Lake Forest led the opener 5-1 after the first inning and added two runs in the second and four in the third to make the score 11-1. After the Rams plated four int he top of the fourth, the home team scored once in the bottom of the inning and sophomore left fielder Brooke Swiecki singled in Chevalier with the game-ending run in the fifth.

Game two began with each team scoring once in the first inning. Cornell then rallied for nine in the top of the second but the Foresters got six of those back in the bottom of the frame. Lake Forest tied the score with three in the third and took control of the game with an eight-run fourth. The visitors added two to their total in the top of the fifth but Chevalier's grand slam in the home half ended the offensive outburst.

The Foresters' 22 runs tied seventh-highest single-game total in program history and the 34 runs scored by both teams were the most in a Lake Forest game since a 25-12 loss at Lawrence University in 1992.

While the Forester offense was putting up historic numbers, the team's most effective pitcher on the day was sophomore Kayla Collins, who started and did not allow an earned run in three innings of work in game one. She pitched thiree-and-one-third innings in relief during game two, allowing just two of the Rams' runs, and earned her second victory of the day and fourth in as many Midwest Conference games this season. Collins improved to 8-1 with a 2.92 earned run average on the year.

Lake Forest is now 13-9 overall and 4-0 in league play. Cornell fell to 8-9 overall and 2-2 in the MWC.

The Foresters will play a pair of doubleaders on the road this weekend when they travel to Knox College on Saturday and Illinois College on Sunday. First pitch both days is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.