GRINNELL, Iowa -- The Lawrence University baseball team opened Midwest Conference play Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Grinnell College at Pioneer Park.
    Lawrence won the opener 11-0 in seven innings and then took a 14-10 victory in the nightcap.
    In the first game, Quinn Berglin spun a three-hit shutout for the Vikings. Berglin struck out 11 and walked two while Grinnell had only two runners advance as far as third base. The 11 strikeouts is two shy of the Lawrence game record.
    Jacob Charon had a huge day at the plate for the Vikings as he hit four home runs in the doubleheader, two in each game, to tie the Lawrence season record of nine set by Lawrence Hall of Famer Steve Blomberg back in 1972. In the opener, Charon went 2-for-3, scored three times and drove in four runs. Zach Leslie went 2-for-2 with a double, scored three times and drove in a pair for Lawrence. Spenser Ross doubled and drove in a pair of runs for the Vikings.
    The Vikings jumped on top in the second when Edan Perez walked and scored on Taylor Freeman's double for a 1-0 lead. Lawrence stretched the lead with four runs in the third. The Vikings had a run in after two walks and an error when Ross doubled to score two more for a 4-0 lead. Berglin then singled to score Perez and the Vikings were up 5-0.
    Leslie led off the fifth with a single, and Charon followed with a homer for a 7-0 lead. 
    Lawrence put the game away with four more runs in the sixth. Nick Heerde and Parker Knoll started the inning with singles, and Leslie cracked a double to score both for a 9-0 advantage. Charon followed with another two-run homer and the Vikings led 11-0.
    Berglin then allowed just one runner over the final two innings as the Vikings won on the 10-run rule after seven innings.
    Lawrence pounded out 16 hits in the second game as the Vikings won a slugfest to complete the sweep.
    Charon went 4-for-5 with two homers, scored three times and drove in five runs in the second game. Freeman went 2-for-4 and hit the first two homers of his college career. Freeman drove in four runs and scored twice. Ross and Perez both went 2-for-4 with Ross driving in two runs and Perez scoring three times.
    Rookie Cam Ruth threw four innings of relief to get the win. He allowed two runs on two hits, struck out five and walked three. Richie LaCien didn't allow a run over the final two innings to record the save.
    Lawrence got on the board first when the Vikings scored four times in the first. A walk and double by Leslie set the table for Charon, who blasted a three-run homer. The Vikings added another run in the frame on Berglin's run-scoring single.
    The game was tied 4-4 when Lawrence scored five times in the top of the third. The bases were loaded when Ross delivered a two-run single, and the Vikings added three more runs on an error and a pair of sacrifice flies for a 9-4 edge.
    Grinnell trimmed the lead to 9-8 in the bottom of the third, but the Vikings got a run back on Freeman's solo homer to start the fifth. The Pioneers then scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 10-10.
    Lawrence took the lead back for good in the eighth when Perez reached an error and Freeman belted a two-run homer for a 12-10 lead. The Vikings got some breathing room in the ninth when Leslie walked and Charon smacked a two-run homer for a14-10 advantage.
    LaCien then worked around an error in the ninth to close out the victory.
    The teams wrap up the three-game series with one game on Sunday.