Quick Hits• The 26th-ranked Central Missouri Mules return home to host the Lindenwood Lions in a four-game MIAA series at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and a doubleheader on Sunday at 1 p.m.
• Central Missouri is 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.
The Series• The Mules lead the all-time series with Lindenwood 15-5, including a 3-3 mark during the Tom Myers era.
• The teams split a doubleheader in St. Charles last year in the only meetings. UCM won the opener 10-4 before the Lions took the nightcap by a score of 11-7.
• The teams split a four-game series in Warrensburg during the 2012 season.
Lindenwood• Lindenwood enters the four-game MIAA series at 14-17 overall and 11-9 in MIAA play after sweeping a four-game series from Pittsburg State last weekend.
• The Lions are batting .291 as a team. They have 43 doubles, 15 home runs and 159 RBI as a unit.
• Marshall Vallandingham leads the team with a .380 batting average. He leads the team with 11 doubles and has knocked in 17 runs. Mike Failoni is hitting .367 with a team-leading four triples, four home runs and 22 RBI. Nathan Prindle is hitting .253 and is tied for the team lead with 22 runs driven in. Jerry Roam is hitting .336 and has nine doubles and 17 RBI in 30 games played.
• The pitching staff has a 5.63 staff ERA in 31 games and 238.0 innings pitched. The staff has walked 82 batters and struck out 169 in that span.
• Austin Klein is 4-1 with a 4.43 earned run average in eight starts. He's struck out 42 batters in 44.2 innings pitched.
• Wade Rothermich is 1-1 with a 3.78 ERA in five appearances and two starts. Devin Breihan has a 2.38 earned run average in 11 relief appearances. Geoff Hartlieb has two saves and is 1-3 in 11 appearances.
• The Lions have committed 46 errors in the field and have a .958 team fielding percentage. They have turned 19 double plays this year as a team.
The Mules• Central Missouri enters the weekend series at 22-10 overall and 19-5 in MIAA play. The Mules swept a four-game series at Lincoln last weekend before dropping a non-conference game at Emporia State on Tuesday.
• The Mules are hitting .304 as a team with 43 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs and 177 RBI. They have six players hitting .310 or better and they've drawn 143 walks on the season.
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Tony Sandifer is tied for the team lead with a .388 average to go along with six doubles, a home run and a team-leading 28 RBI.
Jake Alexander is also hitting .388 and has driven in 17 runs.
Brad Wilson is hitting .358 with a team-best four home runs and has driven in 25 runs.
• The pitching staff has a 3.84 team ERA in 32 games and 248.1 innings pitched. The staff has 242 strikeouts and 92 walks during that span.
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Jake Heissler is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched. He has struck out 36 over his six starts.
Ricky Rivera is 5-0 with a 3.10 ERA in 40.2 innings pitched over seven starts.
Zach Davis is 2-1 with a 2.31 earned run average over 23.1 innings and 14 relief appearances. He leads the relievers with six saves.
• The UCM defense has committed 37 errors and has a .965 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned 16 double plays on the year.
Worth Noting• The Mules have scored at least one run in 378 of the 383 games played under head coach Tom Myers.
Last time out April 1, 2014 - (EMPORIA, Kan.) -- The No. 26-ranked Central Missouri Mules couldn't hold a late 3-1 lead and fell 4-3 in walkoff fashion to Emporia State on Tuesday night at Glennen Field at the Trusler Sports Complex. Emporia State scored twice in the eighth inning to tie the game and then scored the winning run with one out in the ninth. The game was a non-conference game that does not count against either team's MIAA record.
Emporia State (19-11) jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Toby Cornejo's first inning RBI single. The Mules (22-10) responded with a three-run fourth inning to take the lead.
Dylan Hanson had an RBI single to the game and UCM went in front on
Dusty Maas' two-run single.
The lead stood until the eighth innig when Dean Long lifted a two-run home run to left center to tie the game.
The Mules went down in order in the top of the ninth setting up Emporia State's heroics in the bottom of the inning. The leadoff batter reached on an error and back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Following a strikeout, Levi Parker hit a high chopper in front of the plate that allowed Justin Harris to score from third, giving the Hornets the win.
The loss snaps Central Missouri's eight-game winning streak overall and a nine-game winning streak against ESU.
Zach Davis (2-1) took the loss for the Mules after allowing a run on no hits in the ninth. Starter
Reece Ponak went 3.2 innings giving up one run on two hits.
AJ Walkenhorst tossed 4.1 innings of relief, allowing two runs on thre hits while striking out seven.
Matt Hinkley (1-0) earned the win for Emporia State after allowing three hits in three innings of relief.
Mules in MIAA play• Central Missouri is 19-5 this season and 205-47 in MIAA play under head coach Tom Myers after sweeping a four-game series at Lincoln 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 3-5 in non-conference games this season and 93-38 in non-conference games during the Tom Myers era after dropping a non-conference game at Emporia State on April 1. The Mules were 8-5 against non-conference competition last season.
Mules at home• The Mules are 124-28 at home during the Tom Myers era and 11-1 this season after sweeping Missouri Southern at Crane Stadium last weekend.
• 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 733-140-1 (.839) in 874 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 9-7 on the road this season after splitting a dropping a non-conference game at Emporia State on Tuesday night. UCM swept a four-game series at Lincoln last weekend.
• UCM was 18-5 on the road last season and the Mules are 136-39 in road games during the Tom Myers era.
The Myers way• Central Missouri head coach Tom Myers has a 298-85 (.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.
Mules in the Polls• Central Missouri moved up two spots to No. 26 in this week's Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll. The Mules dropped out of the poll earlier this season, snapping a streak of 93 consecutive weeks in the poll.
• The Mules are receiving votes in the NCBWA Poll as well and are ranked No. 4 in the NCBWA Central Region Poll.
Ballpark Fare• Sodexo will offer dollar popcorn and dollar hot drinks (coffee and hot chocolate) to fans on both Saturday and Sunday of the Lindenwood series.
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 1,746-680-9 (.719) record in 2,435 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 715-168 (.810) 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 host Emporia State in a non-conference game on Tuesday, April 8 at 6 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• UCM heads to Maryville, Mo. April 11-13 for a four-game MIAA series against Northwest Missouri.
