APPLETON, Wis. -- The comeback kids did it again on Saturday.
The Lawrence University baseball team grabbed its 11th come-from-behind win this season and posted a 7-6 victory over the University of Chicago in the Midwest Conference Tournament Championship Game at Whiting Field.
The victory gave Lawrence the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Vikings are headed to the national tournament for the first time since 1979 and just the third time in school history. Lawrence will learn in which four-team regional it will play on Monday.
"Honestly, it's just an overwhelming feeling of joy," Lawrence coach Chris Krepline said after the victory. "Joy and pride in the guys and this team and the program and all things they've worked hard for. It's just pure joy."
Lawrence (26-11) trailed 6-2 before scoring twice in the fifth and three times in the sixth to take the lead. The Vikings then held Chicago (23-16) scoreless for the final three frames to secure victory.
Krepline pulled his team together before the fifth to set the stage for the comeback.
"I brought them out in front of the dugout and told them, 'You've been here before. You've been down 10 times and won and this is nothing for you guys.' They all believed we could do this," Krepline said.
Jacob Charon, Lawrence's prolific power hitter, got the rally started when he blasted a one-out solo homer to trim the lead to 6-3. It was Charon's 19th home run in just 37 games. Two batters later, rookie Taylor Freeman hit a towering blast over the fence in right-center field, his sixth of the season, to cut the margin to 6-4.
"Once we got to those fifth and sixth innings, we all looked at each other and thought let's go," Krepline said.
Matthew Guyton had come on in relief for Chicago after the two homers, but he ran into trouble in the sixth. Mitchell Sandleback started the inning with a double, and Parker Knoll followed with a single to put runners at the corners. A walk to Jeffery Cambra loaded the bases.
After a strikeout, Charon bounced into a fielder's choice to score Sandleback, and the lead was cut to 6-5. Charon then stole second, and Knoll was headed home when the ball skipped away from catcher Brett Riegler. Knoll scored to tie the game at 6-6.
Eden Perez then walked, and Ethan Docter came on to pitch for the Maroons. Charon stole third, and Perez moved to second on a wild pitch. Docter uncorked another wild pitch to score Charon and give the Vikings a 7-6 lead.
Nathaniel Johannes, who had come on in relief of Lawrence starter Elden Santana in the fourth, tossed three innings of scoreless relief. After allowing a walk and a one-out single in the seventh, he gave way to Richie LaCien. LaCien worked out of the jam and completed a scoreless eighth.
The first two Chicago batters singled in the ninth, and a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. Lawrence pulled the infield in, and Jack Goldstein grounded out to Freeman for the second out as the runners held. Josh Peyton then hit a fly ball to deep right-center, but Knoll made a great catch for the final out.
"Nate led the way, and Richie coming in and thought it's my turn, my turn to close the door," Krepline said.
"Before Richie ran out for the ninth, he shook my hand and said, 'Coach, I've got this.' "
Johannes picked up the win to move to 2-0 on the season, and LaCien earned his sixth save of the year.
Charon went 3-for-4 with a homer and a double and three runs batted in to lead the Lawrence offense. Nick Heerde went 2-for-2 with a double for the Vikings.
Chicago led 4-0 after the top of the second, but the Vikings got a run back on Heerde's run-scoring single in the bottom of the inning. Lawrence made it 4-2 in the third when it loaded the bases before Freeman drew a walk to force home a run. The Maroons added two more runs in the fourth for a 6-2 edge before Lawrence rallied.