RIPON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University baseball team rallied from a six-run deficit Wednesday with the help of a pair of huge hits to grab a 14-10 Midwest Conference win over Ripon College at Francis Field.
    The victory gave Lawrence a series victory as the Vikings took two of three from the Red Hawks. Lawrence is now tied for first place in the league with an 11-7 record, and the Vikings are 17-17 overall.
    Edan Perez hit a grand slam, and Taylor Freeman delivered a three-run triple to deliver the victory. Perez finished 4-for-5, hit his fifth home run of the season and drove in six runs. Freeman went 2-for-5, drove in four runs and scored three times.
    Zach Leslie went 4-for-6 and drove in two runs, and Tate Hartlaub, CJ Filipek and Ben Gutkowski all had two hits for the Vikings.
    Lawrence led 2-0 to start the game, but Ripon (15-21, 8-10) scored twice in the first, four times in the second and once in both the third and fourth innings to build an 8-2 lead.
    Lawrence got two runs back in the fifth on run-scoring singles from Freeman and Perez to cut the lead to 8-4. 
    William Zatkowski started a rally in the eighth for the Vikings with a single. Gutowski reached on an error and Sage Beebe-Jenny singled to score Gutkowski to cut the lead to 8-5. Filipek's infield single loaded the bases to set up Perez. He blasted the grand slam over the fence in left field, and the Vikings led 9-8.
    Shane Foley retired the Red Hawks in order in the bottom of the eighth, and the Vikings attacked Ripon's pitching again in the ninth.
    After a pair of outs to start the inning, Gutkowski doubled. Hartlaub picked up an infield single, and Beebe-Jenny walked to load the bases. Freeman then smacked a bases-clearing triple to left, and the Vikings led 12-8. Freeman later stole home, and Leslie added a run-scoring single for a 14-8 lead.
    Ripon rallied against Foley in the bottom of the ninth and trimmed the lead to four runs. The Red Hawks had the bases loaded with two outs when Lawrence ace Elden Santana came in to get the final out and pick up the save.
    Max Huddleston pitched three innings of relief to get the victory. He allowed just two hits and no runs while striking out one to get his first win of the season.
    The teams also completed the second game of the series, which was halted by darkness on April 22 at Lawrence. Ripon led 16-14 entering the eighth inning, and the Red Hawks won by that score.
    The Vikings had runners aboard in each of the final two innings but were unable to score.
    Freeman went 2-for-4 with a pair of homers, including a grand slam, drove in six runs and scored three times. Hartlaub was 3-for-5 with a double, drove in three runs and scored twice, and Shane Santaga was 2-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored. Perez also went 2-for-5, and Filipek homered for the Vikings.