Lawrence baseball powering through season, earned program-record 12-straight wins
APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) — The Lawrence baseball team set a program record of 12-straight wins midway through the 2024 season. A year after winning just 40% of their games, the Vikings have got into the swing of things.
“It’s great to have as much success as we’ve had. It’s great to have individual success, but just to see the team win and see everybody happy? I mean, there’s nothing that beats that,” senior pitcher Quinn Bergline said. Bergline has earned four Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Week honors this season and has a 7-0 record.
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The Vikings (21-8) historic win streak began on March 22 with a 13-0 victory over Knox College. Lawrence won 12 straight games before dropping two games to the University of Chicago on April 13 and 14.
“Well, streaks are meant to be broken so new ones can begin. So we are ready to start that new streak and see if we can take it more than 12 wins,” head coach Chris Krepline said.
Despite losing the streak, Lawrence holds the top rank in conference play with a 13-2 record. Part of the team’s success is thanks to senior Jacob Charon. Charon has the nation’s third-highest batting average of 0.500 and a team-high nine home runs.
After a down season in 2023, where the Vikings won just 15 games, Charon knows they have to win now if he and his fellow seniors want to end their careers on a high note.
“This is the season to do it. It’s what our coach talked to us about (after losing the streak). We are out here trying to win,” Charon said.
The driving goal for Lawrence is hosting the Midwest Conference Tournament, an opportunity given to the team with the best conference record at the end of the season. The last time the Vikings hosted the tournament in 2022, they won the title and advanced to the NCAA Regionals.
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Since then, Whiting Field underwent major renovations, which forced the Vikings to practice and play off-campus until April 15.
The Vikings are scheduled to host their first official “home game” at Whiting Field on April 30 against Carthage College.
