Quick Hits• The 22nd-ranked Central Missouri Mules hit the road for their first true road games of the season. UCM will take on No. 9 Southern Arkansas in a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 2 p.m. in Magnolia, Arkansas.
• The Mules wrap up the trip with a single non-conference game against Lincoln on Saturday at 2 p.m.
• UCM is ranked No. 22 in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll and 21st in the latest D2BaseballNews.com poll. The Mules are receiving votes in the other two Division II polls, Perfect Game Baseball and the NCBWA.
• Central Missouri was picked to finish second in the MIAA's Preseason Coaches' poll.
• The Mules were 35-16 a season ago and captured the 24th MIAA Regular Season Championship in program history. The Mules missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993.
The Series• The Muleriders hold a 7-5 lead in the all-time series between Southern Arkansas and the Mules. SAU eliminated UCM from the 2013 NCAA-II Central Regional with a 4-1 win in Mankato, Minnesota.
• UCM holds an 93-7 lead in the series with Lincoln. The Mules went 4-0 against the Blue Tigers last year in MIAA play, sweeping a four-game series in Jefferson City. This will be the first of five scheduled meetings between the Mules and Blue Tigers this season. This first meeting counts as a non-conference game with the next four being MIAA contests.
Southern Arkansas• Southern Arkansas enters the game at 5-4 overall and ranked No. 9 in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll.
• The Muleriders are 4-1 against the MIAA this season. They took two out of three games from Lindenwood to open the season, then beat Nebraska-Kearney and Pittsburg State last weekend in Grand Prairie, Texas at the QuikTrip DII Classic.
• They are the preseason favorite to win the Great American Conference championship as selected by the league's coaches.
• Fifth-year head coach Steve Browning has compiled a 159-73 record leading SAU.
• The Muleriders are hitting .234 as a team with 17 doubles, two triples and seven home runs.
• Chase Harvey and Chris Quinn lead the team in hitting with .333 batting averages. Jon Phillips is hitting .313 with a team-leading six doubles. Mason Mallard has a team-best two home runs and a pair of players have five RBI each.
• The pitching staff has a 3.38 ERA in nine games and 80 innings pitched. The staff has walked 22 and struck out 52 during that span.
• Preston Gray is 2-0 with a 2.40 earned run average in two starts. He's thrown one complete game.
• Landon Simpson is 0-2 with a 3.50 ERA in three starts. He's throw a team-leading 18 innings and has 16 strikeouts over that span.
The Muleriders have a .962 team fielding percentage. They've committed 14 errors and have turned three double plays on the year.
Lincoln• Saturday's game will be the season-opener for the Lincoln Blue Tigers under first year head coach Mike DeMilia.
• Lincoln was 2-41 last season and 0-36 in MIAA play. The Blue Tigers are picked to finish 14th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Last season, the Blue Tigers hit .211 as a team with 55 extra-base hits, including 21 home runs and they scored 125 runs.
• The Lincoln pitching staff had a 10.14 earned run average over 43 games and 309 innings pitched. They walked 212 batters and struck out 167 during that span.
The Mules• Central Missouri enters the weekend at 2-2 overall after their season-opening trip to Houston, Texas for the Third Annual Houston Winter Invitational.
• The Mules are hitting .179 as a team with a pair of doubles, one triple, a home run and 12 RBI.
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Trevor Jones leads the team in hitting with a .375 batting average, he also has a triple and two RBI.
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Tony Sandifer leads the group with four runs batted in and
Matt Milner has a home run and three RBI.
• The pitching staff has a 3.25 team ERA through the first four games and 36 innings pitched. The staff has 31 strikeouts and 13 walks during that span.
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Tyler House is 1-0 with a 1.12 ERA in his lone start. He went eight solid innings giving up one run on three hits while striking out seven.
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Lucas Williams is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings of relief.
Trevor Ezell is 2-for-2 in save opportunities this year. He has four strikeouts in three innings pitched.
• The UCM defense has committed six errors and has a .962 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned three double plays on the year.
Worth Noting• The Mules won six straight MIAA series to close out the 2014 regular season.
• Senior outfielder
Trevor Jones was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Central Region Second Team.
Mules picked to finished second in MIAA Preseason Poll• Central Missouri was picked to finish second in the MIAA according to the 14 league coaches in the preseason poll released last Friday. The Mules received two of 14 first place votes and tallied 155 points to come in second. Emporia State received 10 first place votes and totaled 164 points to claim the top spot. Central Oklahoma garnered the other two first place nods adn 143 points to come in third. Missouri Western (132 points) and Nebraska-Kearney (121 points) rounded out the top five.
• UCM is scheduled to open MIAA play Feb. 20-22 hosting Fort Hays State in a four-game series at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Mules in the Polls• Central Missouri is ranked No. 22 in the nation in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll. The Mules are ranked No. 21 in the latest D2BaseballNews.com poll released this week. UCM is receiving votes in the NCBWA and Perfect Game Baseball polls.
• The first regular season ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll will be released next Monday, February 16.
Mules in season-openers• The Mules are 30-21 in season-openers since 1965 after the 8-3 loss to Henderson State last weekend in Houston.
• UCM has dropped three straight season-openers at the Houston Winter Invitational.
Mules in non-conference action• The Mules are 2-2 in non-conference games this season after going 2-2 at the season-opening Houston Winter Invitational last week.
• UCM was 3-8 in non-conference games last season.
Mules in MIAA play• The Mules were 32-8 in conference play last year as they captured the 24th MIAA Regular Season championship in program history and the 16th in the last 21 seasons.
The Mules at home• The Mules were 18-5 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field last season.
• The Mules are 740-144-1 (.837) in 885 games played in this, their 40th season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Mules on the road• The doubleheader against Southern Arkansas on Friday will mark the first road games of the 2015 season for Central Missouri.
• The Mules were 15-9 on the road last season.
Crookes era begins• The Mules are 2-2 in the early going of
Kyle Crookes' first season as head coach of the Central Missouri program.
• The Mules were 71-29 in his two seasons as an assistant coach and captured the 2014 MIAA Regular Season Championship. The Mules garnered five First Team All-MIAA selections and three All-America honors during his two years as an assistant.
• Crookes compiled a 292-164 overall record in eight seasons as the head coach at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College before taking over as an assistant coach at UCM.
Mules Baseball history• In the 60th season of UCM baseball the Mules have compiled a 1,761-688-9 (.718) record in 2,458 games played. The Mules have won 40 or more games 17 times, including 14 straight seasons from 1999-2012, and have won 50 or more games nine times.
• The Mules have won or shared 24 MIAA championships, 16 regional titles and two national championships.
Mules Baseball by the Numbers• 27 NCAA Regional Appearances (20 of the last 21 years)
• 24 MIAA Titles (16 of the last 21)
• 20 MIAA Tournament Titles (16 of the last 21)
• 16 Regional Championships
• 15 Regionals as host site
• 13 Top five national finishes
• 4 Third place finishes
• 1 National Runner-Up
• 2 National Championships
Mules Baseball: Winningest Team of the 2000s• The Central Missouri baseball program has had unprecedented success in the last 25 years and has been even more impressive since the year 2000. The Mules were the winningest team in all divisions of the NCAA by victories (508) and percentage (.814, 508-116) from 2000-09. That success has continued through the 2010s.
• The Mules are 730-177 (.805) since the year 2000. An average of 48.5 wins per season over the last 15 years.
A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics• Following the fall sports seasons, Central Missouri has won a combined 202 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured seven MIAA regular season titles, the most of any school in one season in league history, and the second time Central Missouri has accomplished the feat.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 146 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won six national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003 and men's basketball in 2014) and eight national championships overall.
A Tradition of Excellence in the Classroom• Central Missouri had 220 student-athletes named to the 2013-14 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 41 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Scholar Athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA and having earned all-MIAA honors in their respective sport.
• 17 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had 12 student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with seven of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
Upcoming• The Mules open MIAA play on Friday, Feb. 20 hosting Fort Hays State for a 3 p.m. game. It is the first game of a four-game series. Saturday's doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch with Sunday's single-game going at 1 p.m. as well.
