2010 University of Saint Francis Cougars' outlook

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With a little cooperation from Mother Nature, the University of Saint Francis hits the road this weekend to open its 46th season and nobody can accuse the Cougars of starting off easy.

Coach Greg Roberts heads into his fifth season as head coach of the Cougars with four games at fifth-ranked Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. Lee finished the 2009 season 54-14, won its pool and advanced to within one win of playing for the national championship. Because of rain, the twin bill originally schedule Fri., Feb. 5 has been moved to Sun., Feb. 7 starting at 1 p.m. The double dip set for Saturday will now start at 1 p.m.

And that's just to start. The Cougars have games scheduled against two more NAIA Top 25 teams -- No. 11 Tennesee Wesleyan and No. 19 Cumberland (TN). USF also has games scheduled against received votes teams including No. 29 Taylor, No. 35 Jamestown (ND), No. 37 Spring Arbor, No. 39 Ohio Dominican and three teams tied at No. 43 -- USF (IL), William Woods (MO) and Indiana Tech.

Along with the ranked opponents, six teams on the 2010 USF schedule -- Lee, Spring Arbor, Tennessee Wesleyan, Jamestown, Cumberland and Taylor -- advanced to the National Championship Opening Round.

The Cougars are coming off the first winning season in the history of the program and coach Greg Roberts knows that duplicating that feat will be difficult with the loss of three starting position players, three starting pitchers and their closer from the 2009 record-setting team that went 32-21 and finished second in the Mid-Central College Conference.

Here's how USF is ranked in the MCC Pre-season rankings released in Nov. 2009:

Mid-Central College Conference

1. Taylor University (Ind.) (0-0 / 38-19) 

2. Spring Arbor University (Mich.) (0-0 / 31-15)

3. Huntington University (Ind.) (0-0 / 26-19)

4. Bethel College (Ind.) (0-0 / 29-24)

5. University of Saint Francis (Ind.) (0-0 / 32-21)

6. Marian University (Ind.) (0-0 / 24-28)

7. Indiana Wesleyan University (0-0 / 18-35)

8. Goshen College (Ind.) (0-0 / 11-45)

9. Grace College (Ind.) (0-0 / 10-39)

Here's a closer look below at the 2010 Cougars:

Around the infield:

1st Base: Senior Chase Gaff is expected to man first base when he’s not pitching. “Chase has worked hard at improving and if he continues to work hard has the athletic ability to play good defense. He just needs to work hard at it,” Roberts says. “He can swing the bat and will provide additional pop in the lineup.” Gaff, who was pretty much used strictly as a starting pitcher in 2009, takes over for Scott Wells and John Schlicter who both used their final season of eligibility. Sophomores Dan Beer and Brian Isenbarger are battling for time at first when Gaff is on the mound.

2nd Base: Ben Martin is expected to start at second this season after seeing very limited playing time in 2009 playing behind senior Wells. “He’s got good hands, good baseball instincts and is an intense competitor,” Roberts said. “He had an excellent fall and I look for him to continue what he did back in September and October.

Roberts also has been impressed with Blayke Kaufman along with Clay Mass.

Shortstop: Colin Zwiebel is obviously stronger this season and Roberts expects strong play in the field after Zwiebel got 27 starts in 36 games played last season at short. Zwiebel helped turn 17 double plays and committed 12 errors on 131 chances. He’s also looking to improve a .263 batting average this season as a junior.

“I’ve spent a lot of time hitting with Jon (Saporsantos) and he’s helped me with some little things that, along with improving my strength, should make me more of a threat at the plate,” Zwiebel said.

Freshman Ian Clay will back up Zwiebel at short and he is versatile and athletic enough to play third or second if needed.

3rd Base: Jon Saporsantos holds down the hot corner for the Cougars with his glove as well as his bat after he led USF hitting in 2009 with a .394 average and RBI with 39.

“He’s obviously the starter at third and I can’t wait until we get outside because he has been hitting the ball well in practice,” Roberts said. Freshman Tom Degitz can play third if necessary, but Roberts expects ‘Sappy’ to anchor the infield at third. After starting at second base to open the 2009 season, Roberts moved the Canadian native to third base after two games at Spring Arbor and the Cougars won 14 of their next 15 games with Saporsantos at third and Wells taking over at second.

Catcher: With a .568 slugging percentage and a .371 batting average, junior Taylor Futterknecht returns behind the plate. He tied for the USF home run lead with seven in 2009 and finished second to Saporsantos with 38 RBI. Degitz and Jarrod Roberts will backup Futterknecht, who has belted 15 home runs in his first two seasons with the Cougars.

Outfield: Two-time All-MCC selection Travis Potchka returns to anchor the outfield from centerfield, one of the most exciting outfielders in the league. Potchka batted .361 in 2009 and led USF scoring with 51 runs. Beer will play left if he’s not playing first base in place of Gaff while junior Tristen Peffley will start the season in right. Roberts also hopes to get some playing time in the outfield for freshman Tyler Gregory early in the season after a solid fall. Austin Leisure will figure in the outfield rotation once the basketball season concludes and Roberts said it’s not out of the question that junior Scott Bickel may see some playing time in left since it appears Troy Hudson will not play this season for personal reasons.

Designated Hitter: Bickel made the most of his batting opportunities tying Futterknecht for the team HR lead with seven, knocking in 31 runs and delivering 38 hits enroute to a .302 average. Roberts expects him to fill the DH role again this season if not filling a position.

Pitching: USF featured a veteran pitching staff in 2009 that posted one of the better team ERAs in USF history at 4.15. Departed pitchers Bart Schnur, Matt Degitz, Scott Wells, Mike Ybarra and Brok Lahrman combined for a 22 wins in 2009.

Gaff does return as the USF No. 1 again this season after posting a respectable 2.81 ERA with a team best 74 strikeouts and nine complete games in 13 starts for the hard-throwing righty from Churubusco. “He throwin’ the ball well and is lookin’ strong on the mound,” Roberts said.

Roberts is counting on more from Greg Kerro, who started five games and appeared in 10 games posting a 3.73 ERA. Kerro figures to be the Cougars’ No. 2 starter in 2010.

“After Gaff and Kerro, we’ve got some kids with good arms, but they’re untested at this level,” Roberts says. “They're going to be learning on the job. Jarrod Rydell played in the North-South All-Star Game and has a lot of potential. Pat Brown and Trevor Pulver took Central Noble fairly deep in the tournament and have a lot of potential. We’ve also got a transfer from Miami of Ohio, Kyle Proxmire, who throws the ball pretty good.

“I’m lookin’ forward to findin’ out what Mickey Owens can do after recovering from arm surgery,” Roberts continued. “He’s an outstanding athlete with solid mechanics and a deceptive delivery. We’ll also use Tristen Peffley, who pitched in six games, and Jay Stoops, who has worked hard at developing an outstanding third pitch. We’re not countin’ on Scott (Bickel) at this point, but if he comes along and can give us some innings, it will be an added bonus. When his arm is right, he's got some real good stuff.”

Rydell may fill the closer role this season after it was filled so deftly in 2009 by Mickey Cassidy, who notched a USF record eight saves in 2009 appearing in 16 games. Roberts also said that Clay may see some action on the bump noting “he has a good, live arm.”