MARION, Ind. -- This wasn't the way it was scripted -- a 26-10 season-ending loss at the hands of Taylor University -- in a record-setting season for the University of Saint Francis baseball program.

  > 27 wins . . . 2 more than the 25 wins the 1994 team won,

  > a 9-5 upset over 9th-ranked Spring Arbor, the first USF win over an NAIA Top 10 team in recent memory and second second straight season the Cougars beat the MCC Tournament No. 1 seed,

  > 8 HRs by a freshman, Taylor Futterknecht, breaking the previous single-season high of 7 HRs by Darrin Bloebaum in 1987,

  > 81 hits by leadoff speedster Travis Potchka, a new single-season record shattering the previous record of 76 by Cody Scherer in 2000,

 > 15 stolen bases, another record-setting number for Potchka,

 > 137 career RBI for Jarrod Wehri shattering the record Josh Widman set of 114 (2004-07),

 > 191 career hits for Wehri breaking Widman's record of 189 (2004-07),

 > 31 walks for Wehri a new single-season high breaking Spencer Cordonnier's record of 26 in 1998,

 > 37 career doubles for Wehri No. 2 on USF list.

  Unfortunately, Taylor didn't read the USF script and hammered seven wind-aided home runs capitalizing on five USF errors on defense to end the Cougars' 45th-season unceremoniously.

   Much of the offensive fury was unleashed on USF freshman starting pitcher Kevin Merz, who just struggled surrendering five runs in the first inning and three more in the second, though six of the 15 runs TU scored with Merz on the bump were unearned.

  USF did charge back in its first at bat to dig out of that 5-0 hole. Little Dynomite Jake Trahin crushed a pitch with the wind to left field for a two-out, three-run home run to pull the Cougars even at 5 after one inning. Jarrod Wehri and Colin Zwiebel also contributed run-scoring singles prior to Trahin's trot.

  TU replied with a three-run top of the second aided by an error. USF only got a lead-off single from Potchka, and when TU scored three more runs on a Craig Burrell two-out home run, the Cougars never managed another big inning. Cam Byrd, playing in his first and last season with the team, delivered a memorable moment when he belted his first collegiate home run with one out in the ninth in his last at-bat.

  USF coach Greg Roberts thanked his team for a memorable season after the disappointing loss, and the seniors -- Jarrod Wehri, Berto Nunez, Marc Gillig, Drew Linder and Cam Byrd, encouraged the players coming back next season to continue to improve and take the program to even higher levels.

  "Don't let what happened today diminish what you accomplished this season," Roberts said in a muffled voice, nearly overcome with emotion. "We're going in the right direction, but we haven't reached our destination."

  "No matter what happened, even today, this group of young men gave everything they had," Roberts said later. "Nobody gave us much of a chance this season with the loss of Mickey (Cassidy), (Troy) Hudson, and Scott (Bickel), but they persevered and scraped and battled."

 Box Score

  -- Go USF --