By Joe Vanden Acker, Director of Athletic Media Relations
    Baseball has a tendency to conjure up images like those in the film "The Natural" where towering home runs and an underdog tale combine to give us one magical story.
    Lawrence University baseball star Jacob Charon must feel like he's living that Hollywood movie right now. 
    The senior outfielder from Kenosha, Wis., is putting together a season for the ages. Charon is hitting .443, has 14 home runs and driven in 36 in just 19 games. He's led Lawrence to a 13-6 record and an 8-1 mark in the Midwest Conference, which puts the Vikings alone in first place.
    "I just told (some of my teammates) it doesn't feel real," Charon said. "I was just having a few conversations with the guys about the future and what that can hold. I'm just going game-by-game. I'm just staying in the moment. It feels very surreal, and it feels really good knowing where we were my freshmen year."
    The Vikings have seen rapid improvement since Charon came to campus, and that coincided with arrival of head coach Chris Krepline. The Vikings have rapidly improved while working around the pandemic, and Charon has been the tip of the Vikings' spear this season.
    "This is something special," Krepline said. "I haven't really seen this before in my days of playing or days of coaching. What he's been doing is something this program is going to remember."
    Charon leads all of NCAA Division III at 0.74 home runs per game (that would lead NCAA Divisions I and II as well), and ranks second in total home runs. The Vikings have hit a school-record 29 home runs this season, and Lawrence ranks fifth at 1.53 homers per game. Charon also ranks first in Division III at 1.89 RBIs per contest.
    Charon got off to a hot start as he smacked a pair of homers in the season opener against Wisconsin Lutheran College. By the time the Vikings reached game 14, Charon had set Lawrence's season record with his 10th home run in a 6-0 victory over Ripon College.
    "I've never been a home run hitter. I didn't hit my first collegiate home run until last season," Charon said. 
    Charon put together a fine 2021 campaign when he hit a team-high .361 with 10 doubles, four triples, three homers and 30 runs batted in in 27 games.   
    "Over the summer I did take lifting very seriously. I wanted to gain some muscle," said Charon, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs in at 190 pounds. "I've turned those doubles into over the fence now. That's a big part of it."
    Krepline also believes Charon came into his senior season highly motivated. 
    "With the extra-base hits he had last year (17 of them), he had the ability," Krepline said. "This year he had a chip on his shoulder from last year. He wasn't selected (All-MIdwest Conference) and that hit home for him. He did a good job in the weight room last year. He's come back stronger and faster. It's just a great mindset he's brought into this season. He's done well and wants his team to do well."
    Charon picked up national recognition after a spectacular series against Grinnell College as he went 6-for-10 with four home runs, nine RBIs and six runs scored. He also became the first player in Lawrence history to hit two homers in both games of a doubleheader. Charon was chosen for the D3baseball.com Team of the Week, earned honorable mention Hitter of the Week honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and was chosen as Midwest Conference Player of the Week. 
    "He's balanced at the plate, which is why it's so hard to get him out," Krepline said of Charon. "You throw it inside, and he will pull it or hit it out. You throw away, and he hits it into the gap for a double or a home run."
    Charon said his approach has been very simple.
    "I just go up there and want to put my best barrel on the best pitch. The big thing for me is just putting the ball in play," Charon said. He gets his body set in the box, and "from there it's straight back and straight through and hit the ball hard."
    Charon was quickly closing in on Lawrence's career home run mark, which is a modest 16 set by Kevin Fitzsimmons from 2003-06. Charon had 13 career homers heading into the series with Illinois College on April 9 and then his bat failed. 
    New bat, same results. Charon homered twice against Illinois College and then hit a pair of homers against Ripon on April 12. His record-breaking 17th home run was a grand slam in Lawrence's 15-13 victory over the Red Hawks.
    "He said to me, 'Coach, all I'm trying to do is put a good barrel on it. It's not like I'm trying to hit a home run every time,' " Krepline said. "I think he is seeing the ball really well, and he's one of the kids who has really bought into our approach. He's so laser-focused on making good contact and getting the barrel on the ball. I don't know how you get him out."
    Charon has grabbed the attention of the Division III baseball world, and Krepline is trying to get that word out to teams at the next level.
    "Right now, he's putting up All-American numbers," Krepline said. "I'm trying to make every phone call I can to get him some exposure. He's got the speed and he's got the bat and that definitely plays. We want to get him an opportunity to see what he can do.
    "It's a magical season for him, and it's helped to put him in front of the right people and getting his name out there. It's also helping the Lawrence baseball program ... and showing the country what we're all about."
    With the Vikings riding a six-game win streak into this weekend's three-game set at Cornell College, Charon is keeping his focus on taking the 2022 Vikings as far as they can go.
    "The competitiveness on the team has really helped me. Everyone wants to get better and keep winning. We go into the game with the expectation of winning and nothing else," Charon said.
    As for the season, Charon said, "It definitely feels amazing. I couldn't be more thankful for it."