By Joe Vanden Acker, Director of Athletic Media Relations
    APPLETON, Wis. -- The vast majority of the Lawrence University baseball team likely has no idea who Bachman-Turner Overdrive is, but the Vikings lived that band's 1970s anthem, "Takin' Care of Business" this weekend at Whiting Field.
    Lawrence completed a three-game league sweep of Cornell College with a 10-6 victory on Sunday to win the Midwest Conference title and earn the right to host the MWC Tournament on May 9-10. It's Lawrence's third regular-season championship in the last four seasons.
    "I don't think it's set in yet, honestly. It's still pretty fresh," said Lawrence coach Trent Whitcomb, who is in his first season leading the Vikings.
    "We did a job and we expected to be here, but it was a tough year. Every game was a grind. Our guys pushed through every day to put us in a position to win a championship. It's sweet, that's for sure."
    Shane Santaga hit a game-changing grand slam for the Vikings (20-17, 14-7 MWC) in the fifth inning, and Lawrence used three pitchers to keep the Rams in check. The Vikings trailed 2-0 early before taking a two-run lead only to see Cornell come back and tie the game in advance of Santaga's blast.
    "They are a relentless group for sure. They always find a way," Whitcomb said of his team. "Our guys found a way to get a job done and here we are."
    Santaga finished 3-for-5 with the grand slam and a double, drove in four runs and scored twice. Lawrence's Taylor Freeman went 3-for-4 with a homer and two runs scored. Sage Beebe-Jenny and Edan Perez both had two hits for the Vikings, and CJ Filipek drove in a pair of runs.
    Malachi Ross battled through 5.1 innings to pick up the victory. He allowed four runs on six hits, struck out two and walked five. Max Huddleston tossed 1.2 innings of hitless relief, and William Polanco allowed just one hit over the final two innings.
    "I feel like our hitting was kind of the weak part at the beginning of the year but everyone is coming along. We're hitting our stride," Whitcomb said. "Our pitching has been there all year keeping us in games."
    Cornell (14-25, 6-15) scored a pair of runs in the first, but Lawrence loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning. Filipek drew a bases-loaded walk, and Perez's sacrifice fly tied the game.
    Lawrence tacked on a run in the third after back-to-back singles from Beebe-Jenny and Freeman. A throwing error allowed Beebe-Jenny to score, and the Vikings led 3-2. Lawrence added another run in the fourth when Santaga doubled and later scored on a wild pitch for a 4-2 edge.
    That chased Cornell starter Logan Gannon, and the Vikings hit reliever Agustin Velazquez hard. Freeman was hit by a pitch and an error allowed Filipek to reach base and Freeman to score. Perez singled, and Zach Leslie walked to load the bases. Santaga then blasted a ball over the left field fence for his first career grand slam and a 9-4 lead.
    Lawrence added a run in the sixth when Freeman hit a solo homer. 
    The Rams scored two unearned runs in the ninth, and Polanco struck out the final batter to finish the game.
    Beloit College, Monmouth College and Grinnell College also qualified for the double-elimination tournament. The tournament winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The tournament site and game times are yet to be determined.