CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Lawrence University baseball team has been breaking records all season, and the Vikings continued their history-making campaign Saturday.
    Lawrence defeated the University of Chicago 8-2 and 8-3 in a Midwest Conference doubleheader at J. Kyle Anderson Field to win their first league title since 1980.
    "I think we had the right mindset coming in, and our preparation this week was really great. We had this vision all year, and it finally came true," Lawrence coach Chris Krepline said. "We told them  to have fun, play confident and play for each other, and they did it."
    Lawrence also clinched the right to host the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament on May 13-14. The Vikings set a record for season victories as they improved to 23-10, including an 18-5 mark in conference play.
    The Vikings rode the pitching of Quinn Berglin and the bat of Parker Knoll in the opener. Lawrence used a big inning and quality pitching performances to take the second game.
    "Chicago is very tough and we knew that," Krepline said. "They have great pitching and they can hit. It was very evenly matched. We enjoyed the challenge, and we really brought the juice today."
    Berglin went the distance in the first game, allowing eight hits and just one earned run while striking out five and walking one. Berglin improved to 6-1 and lowered his earned run average to 1.32.
    Knoll went 5-for-6 from his spot at the top of the order with two doubles, three runs scored and one driven in. Knoll also swiped a base and is now tied for the season record with 32 steals. Jeffery Cambra went 2-for-6 and drove in two runs, and Spenser Ross was 2-for-4. Edan Perez also drove in a pair of runs for the Vikings.
    Lawrence broke out on top in the first game with a run in the first inning. Knoll started with an infield single, and Cambra followed with a single. Zach Leslie reached on a fielder's choice, and an error allowed Knoll to score for a 1-0 lead.
    The game was tied 1-1 when Lawrence scored twice in the fifth. Nick Heerde started the inning with a walk, and Knoll followed with a double. Cambra's groundout allowed Heerde to score, and Jacob Charon delivered a two-out single to score Knoll for a 3-1 lead.
    The Vikings started to pull away with three runs in the sixth. Ross got things started with a two-out single,a nd Heerded doubled to score Ross. Knoll followed with a double to score Heerde, and Cambra's single score Knoll for a 6-2 edge.
    Lawrence tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the eighth. Leslie got things started with a one-out single, and Charon was then hit by a pitch. Perez then delivered a two-run double for an 8-2 advantage.
    A six-run second inning gave the Vikings the lead for good in the second game.
    Michael Duttlinger went 5.1 innings to pick the win. Duttlinger allowed six hits and three runs while striking out four and walking three. Nathaniel Johannes finished the sixth, and Richie LaCien worked the final three innings to get his fifth save, which breaks the Lawrence season record of four set by Jim Petran back in 1979.
    Knoll went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in and a run scored, and Cambra was 2-for-4, scored twice and drove in a run. Ross was 2-for-3, and Charon and Preston Anderson were both 2-for-4.
    Lawrence started the key rally in the second when Taylor Freeman drew a walk. Anderson singled, and Ross followed with a single to score Freeman for a 1-0 lead. Mitchell Sandleback then doubled to score Anderson for a 2-0 edge.
    Knoll followed with a single to score Ross and Sandleback, and the Vikings led 4-0. Cambra then doubled to score Knoll, and Charon picked up a single to score Cambra for a 6-0 lead.
    The Vikings led 6-1 when they tacked on a run in the fourth on a Cambra single, an error and a fielder's choice. Lawrence added another run in the fifth when Knoll tripled to score Sandleback for an 8-1 lead.
    Chicago (20-14, 15-7) got two runs in the sixth, but LaCien allowed just one hit over the final three innings to get the save. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter.