Fri., May 1, 2009

   The University of Saint Francis will start post-season baseball competition on Saturday, May 2 in the 2009 Mid-Central College Conference Tournament starting at 1 p.m. against No. 5 seed Bethel College. The tournament bracket has been revised for Saturday's games since one of the two diamonds at the Indiana Wesleyan University Athletic Complex is unplayable due to the recent heavy rain.

  It is a double-elimination tournament and will continue on Monday in Marion at the IWU AC.   USF is the No. 2 tournament seed by virtue of its highest MCC finish ever, second in the conference with a 17-7 record behind first-place Spring Arbor University (Spring Arbor, MI). USF finished with its best overall record in the 46-year history of the baseball program -- 32-19. The previous best overall record was 25-26-1 in 1994 under then head coach Mike Flanagan.   

 "This is the most talented team I've coached here," USF head coach Greg Roberts says about his Cougars, who have won 21 of their last 26. "They've pulled out some games that to some appeared lost and we've gotten good pitching and solid defense. Now we head into the new season with something to prove again."   

  Bethel is 26-22 having won its 3-game play-in series against Grace 12-2 and 12-2. The Pilots put a six-game winning streak on the line against the Cougars on Saturday. USF (32-19) and BC only played twice back on April 15. BC won Game 1 3-0. USF won Game 2 6-1. The Pilots boast the MCC's leading overall hitter in Reid Spitaels, who finished the regular season at .468 in 48 games with 74 hits. USF's top hitters are Jon Saporsantos (Simcoe, ONT) at .401 and Travis Potchka, who is hitting .369 with 72 hits in 51 games in centerfield. Saporsantos is tied for ninth in MCC overall hitting, Poitchka ranks 18th.

  In MCC games only, USF catcher Taylor Futterknecht is No. 2 in batting average with a .508. He has 32 hits in 63 at-bats in 20 league games. BC's Nelson Sanchez and Spitaels are No. 4 and No. 5 hitting .473 and .453 respectively.

   In MCC play, USF has three of the top five ERAs with senior right-hander Scott Wells leading the way at 2.25 and No. 2 in the MCC. Bart Schnur is No. 4 at 2.56 and Chase Gaff is No. 5 at 2.95. Overall, Gaff has moved up to No. 2 among MCC pitchers with a 2.93 right behind SAU's Andy Paulun at 2.91. Gaff also ranks No. 2 in strikeouts overall with 70.  

  "We are close to as healthy as we've been all season, so we feel good but not overconfident about our chances of winning the tournament," Roberts said before a short practice at the Ashe Center on Friday afternoon.

  To view scores and the MCC Tournament Bracket, go to www.mid-centralconf.org