Sat., May 2, 2009

  MARION, Ind. -- Mid-Central College Conference baseball observers got the matchup many were hoping for -- No. 1 seeded Spring Arbor vs. No. 2 seed University of Saint Francis. Trouble was, it was in the loser's bracket on the first day of the conference tournament.

   And now USF is done, just like that, after a record-setting season.

   Time will ease the pain of Saturday night's 2-1 elimination loss to No. 21 SAU, the bitterest of pills to swallow considering USF (32-21) outhit SAU 8-3 and got a brilliant complete game from senior right-hander Bart Schnur. Though the USF Cougars outhit SAU, the lack of one more hit at the right time dropped USF to 0-2 in the post-season turning thoughts to new careers, summer jobs and for some, summer baseball.

   Jake Trahin led off the ninth with a single and after Travis Potchka sacrificed to get Trahin to second, SAU brought in Jeff Tervo, the MCC saves leader with 11, and he hit Jon Saporsantos with a pitch. Tristen Peffley ran for Saporsantos, and John Schlicter smashed a a high-hopper to second. Peffley ran right into the SAU second baseman who had just grabbed the ball, then fired to first for the stunning, jaw-dropping finish.

   "The only way Bart could have thrown any better was to throw a no-hitter," USF coach Greg Roberts said. "He did everything he could do. We just didn't execute when we needed to. It is very disappointing."

   SAU took a 1-0 lead in the first on a towering RBI double by Eric Vojkofsky that centerfielder Travis Potchka tracked down and nearly caught. Luke Rider singled to right scoring what proved to be the winning run in the fourth with two outs. SAU, the defending MCC Tournament champion, got both runs with two outs.

   USF finally got on the scoreboad in the seventh when Taylor Futterknecht single to left scoring Saporsantos, but he forgot he had a runner in front of him, and was eventually run down for the third out.

  "Little things like that hurt us in both games," Roberts said.

   In the eighth, Scott Wells singled and advanced to second on Scott Bickel's sac bunt, but Mickey Cassidy and Colin Zwiebel struck out swinging to leave Wells stranded. USF left 11 runners on base for the game. On defense, Cassidy made two diving catches in right field for USF in his final game.

   So what was the No. 1 seed doing in the loser's bracket so soon? Marian knocked off SAU 9-5 in 11 innings. USF stumbled to Bethel 9-1, though USF starter Chase Gaff pitched superbly through the first five innings protecting a 1-0 USF lead. Bethel, which won its seventh game in a row, scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth, three on Trahin's dropped fly on the warning track with two out. The Pilots (27-22) added another run off reliever Matt Degitz in the seventh and three more in the eighth aided by a Troy Hudson misplayed looping line drive and a Trahin throwing error. After collecting five hits in the first four innings, BC starter and winner Chad Emberton didn't yield another hit in the last four innings.

   "I think getting that game in (vs. Ohio Northern on Thursday) would have made a difference," Roberts said. USF did hit some balls hard, but BC's defense made every stop when the game was still up for grabs.