Quick Hits• The 21st-ranked Central Missouri Mules return home for their final regular season home series of the season. UCM will take on Missouri Western in a four-game series beginning on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m.
• Central Missouri was the preseason favorite to win the MIAA as chosen by the league coaches.
• The Mules were 36-13 a season ago and advanced to the 27th NCAA Tournament in school history, and the 20th in a row.
On the air• All four of this weekend's games will be broadcast on the UCM Sports Network.
Bob Jackson will have all the play-by-play action on 1450 KOKO and warrensburgradio.com.
National Championship Reunion• The Mules 1994 National Championship team will be honored in a pregame ceremony prior to Saturday's doubleheader as part of their 20-year reunion.
The Series• The Mules lead the all-time series with Missouri Western 103-31, including a 21-5 mark during the Tom Myers era.
• The Mules won two out of three games from the Griffons last year in St. Joseph. UCM dropped the opener 3-2, but came back to win games two and three 2-1 and 6-5.
• The teams finished first and second in the league standings last year, with MWSU winning their first MIAA title.
Missouri Western• Missouri Western enters the four-game MIAA series at 23-14 overall and 19-11 in conference play after sweeping Pittsburg State last weekend in St. Joseph. The Griffons have won eight straight games and 10 of their last 12.
• The Griffons are batting .301 as a team. They have 72 doubles, nine triples, 28 home runs and 211 RBI as a unit.
• Ryan Degner leads the team with a .373 batting average to along with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 34 RBI.
• David Chew is hitting .343 with 16 extra-base hits and 35 runs driven in.
• Jake Schrader is batting .319 with a team-best 11 home runs and 38 RBI.
• There are seven Griffons hitting .300 or better. Eight different players have hit home runs.
• The pitching staff has a 4.07 staff ERA in 37 games and 294.0 innings pitched. The staff has walked 150 batters and struck out 218 in that span.
• Jake Jones is 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 12 appearances, including six starts.
• Tyler Sanders is 3-2 with a 3.26 earned run average in 19 appearances. He has thrown a staff-high 47.0 innings. Mason Queen leads the group with 40 strikeouts in 38.2 innings pitched.
• Dylan Roades is 1-0 with a team-low 2.61 ERA in five apperances and 10.1 innings pitched.
• The Griffons have committed 57 errors in the field and have a .957 team fielding percentage. They have turned 28 double plays this year as a team.
• Opponents are 41 of 62 in stolen base attempts against Missouri Western this season.
The Mules• Central Missouri enters the weekend series at 29-12 overall and 26-6 in MIAA play after taking three out of four at Northwest Missouri last weekend.
• The Mules are hitting .311 as a team with 58 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs and 226 RBI. They have six players hitting .303 or better and they've drawn 174 walks on the season.
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Jake Alexander leads the team in hitting with a .381 average. He also has four doubles and 22 RBI.
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Tony Sandifer is hitting .379 with a pair of home runs and 33 runs driven in.
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Brad Wilson is hitting .370 with a team-leading five home runs and 35 runs driven in.
• The pitching staff has a 3.76 team ERA in 41 games and 318.1 innings pitched. The staff has 305 strikeouts and 124 walks during that span.
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Ricky Rivera is 6-0 with a 2.67 ERA in 54.0 innings pitched over nine starts.
Zach Davis is 3-1 with a 2.76 earned run average over 29.1 innings and 17 relief appearances. He leads the relievers with eight saves.
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Kurtis Schuyler is 5-2 with a 2.68 earned run average in 10 starts and
Kyle Gehrs is 5-3 with a 3.97 ERA over 11 appearances, including eight starts.
• The UCM defense has committed 49 errors and has a .964 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned 20 double plays on the year.
Worth Noting• The Mules have scored at least one run in 387 of the 392 games played under head coach Tom Myers.
• Central Missouri hit .396 (19-for-48) with runners in scoring position during the Northwest Missouri series.
Last time out April 12, 2014 - (MARYVILLE, Mo.) -- The No. 22 Mules Baseball team wrapped up their series at Northwest Missouri with a doubleheader split on Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Field. UCM came up short in the opener, losing 4-3, but responded with a 9-0 win in the nightcap. The Mules took three out of four from the Bearcats in the series.
The Bearcats (20-17, 15-14 MIAA) jumped out to an early lead in game one scoring three times in the second inning and once in the third to open a 4-0 lead. The Mules (29-12, 26-6 MIAA) rallied for two runs in the fifth on a
Dusty Maas' bases loaded walk and a run scoring double play. UCM plated another run in the sixth on
Seth Wheeler's pinch-hit double to pull within 4-3, but they would get no closer.
Ryker Fox (6-2) picked up the complete-game victory for Northwest Missouri allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits.
Kyle Gehrs (5-3) took the loss for UCM after giving up four runs, only one earned, on six hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked one.
The Mules returned the favor on NWMSU in game two, jumping out to their own 4-0 lead with a run in the second and three in the third. Wheeler had an RBI single to put UCM on the board.
Brad Wilson added an RBI in the third to make it 2-0 and
Kevin Gratza plated two more runs with a single to make it 4-0.
UCM tacked on single runs in the fifth on a Maas RBI single, and the sixth on
Tony Sandifer's RBI single to make it 6-0. Sandifer added another RBI sigle in the eighth to make it 7-0 and a pair of unearned runs later in the inning gave Central Missouri a 9-0 cushion.
Kurtis Schuyler (5-2) picked up the win after scattering four hits in 5.2 innings to go along with four strikeouts.
AJ Walkenhorst and
Grant Gavin combined for 3.1 innings of one-hit relief.
Nikko Pablo (1-1) took the loss for Northwest Missouri after giving up four runs on five hits in just 3.2 innings pitched.
Trevor Jones was 4-for-6 in game two with a pair of runs scored, while Gratza and Sandifer each drove in two runs.
Mules in MIAA play• Central Missouri is 26-6 this season and 212-48 in MIAA play under head coach Tom Myers after winning three out of four games at Northwest Missouri last weekend.
• The Mules were 28-8 in conference play last year as they finished in second place in the league standings.
Mules in non-conference action• Central Missouri is 3-6 in non-conference games this season and 93-39 in non-conference games during the Tom Myers era after dropping a non-conference game to Emporia State on Tuesday night in Warrensburg. The Mules were 8-5 against non-conference competition last season.
Mules at home• The Mules are 128-29 at home during the Tom Myers era and 15-2 this season after losing to Emporia State on Tuesday night.
• The Mules were 9-2 at home last season. It was the first time UCM failed to win double digit home games since 1984, which was also the last time the Mules played that few home games in a single season.
• The Mules are 737-141-1 (.839) in 879 games played in this, their 39th season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• The Mules' best home record under Myers was a 23-3 mark during the 2011 campaign.
Mules on the road• The Mules are 12-8 on the road this season after taking three out of four games from Northwest Missouri last weekend in Maryville.
• UCM was 18-5 on the road last season and the Mules are 139-40 in road games during the Tom Myers era.
The Myers way• Central Missouri head coach Tom Myers has a 305-87 (.778) record in his seventh season leading the Mules' program. The Mules won at least 44 games in each of his first five seasons and recorded 52 wins during the 2010 campaign.
• The Mules have had 23 first team All-MIAA selections and 13 All-Americans during Myers' tenure.
Magic Number: 4• Central Missouri's magic number to clinch at least a share of the MIAA regular season championship is four.
• Any combination of UCM wins and Central Oklahoma losses that add up to four will give the Mules at least a share of their 24th MIAA championship and the fourth in the last five years.
• Any combination that adds up to five will give the Mules the outright MIAA Championship.
300• Central Missouri head coach Tom Myers recorded career win No. 300 with the 4-1 win over Lindenwood on Saturday, April 5.
• UCM is averaging just over 43 wins per season, in this his seventh season leading the Mules.
Climbing the charts• With two saves in the Lindenwood series,
Zach Davis moved into a tie for fifth on UCM's single-season saves list with eight. He also moved into a tie for third on the school's all-time saves list with 15. He is four saves back of second place (Nick Webber, 23 from 2003-05).
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Kurtis Schuyler's win over Northwest Missouri in the series finale gave him five on the season and 24 in his career. He ranks seventh on Central Missouri's all-time wins list, two wins shy of sixth place (Jason Herz, 26 from 1999-2002).
Mules in the Polls• Central Missouri moved up one spot to No. 21 in this week's Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll. This is the fourth straight week in the poll for UCM. The Mules dropped out of the poll earlier this season, snapping a streak of 93 consecutive weeks in the poll.
• The Mules dropped five spots in the NCBWA Poll to No. 24. The Mules are tied at No. 3 in the NCBWA Central Region Poll.
• UCM re-entered the College Baseball Lineup poll in a tie at No. 30 this week.
Martinez Watch List• Before the season began, 125 players from across the country were named to the Tino Martinez Award Watch List for the most outstanding player in Division II baseball. Central Missouri senior outfielders
Kevin Gratza and
Brad Wilson and junior infielder
Tony Sandifer were among the names selected for consideration for the award.
• The award is named after Tino Martinez, former Olympian and MLB All-Star, who played collegiately at Division II University of Tampa.
Mules Baseball history• In the 58th season of UCM baseball the Mules have compiled a 1,753-682-9 (.719) record in 2,444 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 23 MIAA championships, 16 regional titles and two national championships.
Mules Baseball by the Numbers• 27 NCAA Regional Appearances (last 20 in a row)
• 23 MIAA Titles (15 of the last 20)
• 20 MIAA Tournament Titles (16 of the last 20)
• 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 Millenium• The Central Missouri baseball program has had unprecedented success in the last 20 years and has been even more impressive since the year 2000. The Mules have a 722-170 (.809) record since 2000, the most wins of any program in NCAA Division I, II, or III. That is an average of 49.5 wins per season over the last 14 years.
A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics• Following the 2013-14 winter sports season, Central Missouri has won a combined 198 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• The Mules and Jennies have captured five MIAA regular season titles this year and one tournament championship.
• Last season, UCM captured three MIAA regular season titles and one tournament championship.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 144 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 this season) and eight national championships overall.
A Tradition of Excellence in the Classroom• The 550 Central Missouri student-athletes received 375 Academic Awards from the MIAA office for the 2012-13 academic year.
• 305 UCM student-athletes were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• 37 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.
• 33 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had eight student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors in their respective sports, including Brent Vogel being named the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Men's Track & Field.
Upcoming• The Mules close out the regular season April 25-27 in Edmond, Okla. against Central Oklahoma. The series gets underway with a single game on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
• The MIAA Tournament First Round begins on Thursday, May 1 against an opponent to be determined.
