Quick Hits
• The 17th-ranked Central Missouri Mules close out the regular season with a four-game series at Central Oklahoma beginning on Friday.
• UCM claimed a least a share of the MIAA Regular Season Championship by taking three out of four from Missouri Western.
• 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.
The Series• The Mules lead the all-time series with Central Oklahoma 17-12, including a 2-2 mark during the Tom Myers era.
• The Mules won two out of three games from the Bronchos last year in Edmond. UCM dropped the opener 4-3, but came back to win games two and three, 6-3 and 13-4.
Central Oklahoma• Central Oklahoma enters the final MIAA series of the regular season at 33-11 overall and 25-11 in conference play after beating Missouri Southern three out of four games last weekend in Joplin. The Bronchos have won 10 of their last 12 games.
• UCO leads the MIAA in both hitting and pitching.
• The Bronchos are batting .358 as a team. They have 95 doubles, 15 triples, 46 home runs and 340 RBI as a unit.
• Phillip Wilson leads the team with a .455 batting average to go along with 10 doubles, 13 home runs and 44 RBI.
• Jake O'Brien is hitting .452 with 11 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 22 runs driven in.
• Matt Johnson is hitting .348 with 10 doubles, 12 home runs and a team-high 45 RBI.
• There are two Bronchos hitting above .450 and eight regular players hitting .315 or better.
• The pitching staff has a 3.55 staff ERA in 43 games and 329.1 innings pitched. The staff has walked 174 batters and struck out 319 in that span.
• Ricky Reeves is 8-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 11 appearances, including 10 starts. He also leads the team with 53 strikeouts in 55.1 innings pitched.
• Jared Sterling is 6-2 with a 2.31 ERA and Landon Hallam is 3-1 with a 5.44 earned run average.
• Phillip Wilson is 2-1 with a 1.04 ERA and eight saves in 14 relief appearances.
• The Bronchos have committed 56 errors in the field and have a .961 team fielding percentage. They have turned 40 double plays this year as a team.
• Opponents are 36 of 51 in stolen base attempts against Central Oklahoma this season.
The Mules• Central Missouri enters the weekend series at 32-13 overall and 29-7 in MIAA play after taking three out of four from Missouri Western last weekend.
• The Mules are hitting .320 as a team with 64 doubles, eight triples, 17 home runs and 266 RBI. They have seven players hitting .301 or better and they've drawn 196 walks on the season.
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Brad Wilson leads the team in hitting with a .393 average and also has a team-best five home runs to go along with two triples and 38 RBI.
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Tony Sandifer is hitting .388 with four home runs and team-leading 42 runs driven in.
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Jake Alexander is hitting .373. He also has four doubles and 26 RBI.
• Nine players have at least 15 runs batted in.
• The pitching staff has a 3.93 team ERA in 45 games and 350.1 innings pitched. The staff has 324 strikeouts and 138 walks during that span.
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Kurtis Schuyler is 6-2 with a team-low 2.67 ERA in 11 starts.
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Ricky Rivera is 6-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 57.0 innings pitched over 10 starts.
Zach Davis is 3-1 with a 2.41 earned run average over 33.2 innings and 19 relief appearances. He leads the relievers with nine saves.
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Kyle Gehrs is 6-3 with a 3.93 earned run average in 12 appearances, including nine starts. He leads the team with 57 strikeouts in 50.1 innings pitched.
• The UCM defense has committed 53 errors and has a .964 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned 23 double plays on the year.
Worth Noting• The Mules have scored at least one run in 391 of the 396 games played under head coach Tom Myers.
• The Mules hit .442 (38-for-86) with runners on base and .443 (27-for-61) with runners in scoring position in the Missouri Western series.
• Three players (
Hunter Johnson,
Seth Wheeler and
Brad Wilson) each hit .600 or better in the series against the Griffons.
Last time out April 19, 2014 - (WARRENSBURG, Mo.) -- The 21st-ranked Central Missouri Mules swept an MIAA doubleheader from Missouri Western and in doing so, clinched at least a share of the MIAA regular season championship. It is the fourth conference crown under head coach Tom Myers and the 24th in school history.
The Mules (32-13, 29-7 MIAA) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in game one with three runs in the second and two more in the third.
Trevor Jones had an RBI single to get things started and
Jake Alexander followed that up with another run-scoring single.
Brad Wilson's RBI double capped the second inning scoring. In the third,
Seth Wheeler scored on a throwing error and Jones added another RBI single.
The Griffons (24-17, 20-14 MIAA) plated two runs in the fourth on Hunter Weiss' RBI triple and Mitch Thorman's run-scoring single. UCM came back with three runs in the fifth to push the lead to 8-2.
Tony Sandifer had a two-run triple to left center and later scored on a wild pitch.
The Mules blew the game open in the sixth with a seven-run inning to make it 15-2.
Hunter Johnson's three-run home run was the big blow in the inning and capped the scoring.
Kurtis Schuyler (6-2) earned the win with a complete-game effort. He allowed two runs on five hits in the process. Jake Jones (5-3) took the loss for the Griffons after surrendering six runs on 12 hits in 4.1 innings pitched.
Game two started off just as game one ended for Central Missouri. The Mules batted around in the first and scored nine runs to open a big lead right out of the gate. The big blow was
Kevin Gratza's three-run double.
The Griffons plated three of their own in the second to get on the board, but Johnson hit his second home run of the day in the bottom of the inning to make it 10-3.
After Missouri Western put up two runs in the top of the third, UCM came back with three of their own in the bottom of the frame to extend the lead to 13-5.
Matt Molbury had an RBI single and Johnson added a two-run single in the inning.
Gratza's RBI single in the fourth gave Central Missouri a 14-5 lead. The Griffons plated two runs in the sixth to pull within 14-7, but
Seth Wheeler had an RBI single in the eighth to give UCM the 15-7 advantage.
Blake Kolons (1-0) picked up the win tossing 2.2 innings of relief and giving up just two unearned runs.
Zach Davis recorded the final nine outs of the game to earn his ninth save of the season and 16th of his career. His nine saves this season are the fifth most in a single-season in UCM history and his 16 career saves rank third all-time in Mules Baseball history.
Every Mule who played in the doubleheader recorded a hit. Wheeler finished the day 5-for-5. Wilson had six hits on the day as did Johnson, who also finished with seven RBI. Gratza drove in six runs as well.
The Mules pounded out 41 hits in the doubleheader and scored 30 runs to earn the sweep.
Mules in MIAA play• Central Missouri is 29-7 this season and 215-49 in MIAA play under head coach Tom Myers after winning three out of four games against Missouri Western 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 132-30 at home during the Tom Myers era and 18-3 this season after taking three out of four games from Missouri Western 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 740-142-1 (.839) in 883 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.
Mules in the NCAA-II Regional Rankings• Central Missouri is ranked No. 8 in the initial NCAA-II Central Region rankings released on Wednesday. The top six teams in the final regional poll on Sunday, May 11 will earn a bid to the NCAA-II Central Regional at a site to be determined.
• The Mules have qualified for 20 straight NCAA regional tournaments and 27 overall in school history.
The Myers way• Central Missouri head coach Tom Myers has a 308-88 (.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 clinch share of MIAA Championship• Central Missouri claimed at least a share of the MIAA Regular Season Championship with three wins over Missouri Western and a Central Oklahoma loss to Missouri Southern over the weekend.
• This is the fourth MIAA title under head coach Tom Myers and the 24th conference crown in school history.
• The Mules need just one win at Central Oklahoma this weekend to claim the title outright.
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 44 wins per season, in this his seventh season leading the Mules.
Climbing the charts• With one save in the Missouri Western series,
Zach Davis moved into fifth on UCM's single-season saves list with nine. He also moved into third place, all alone, on the school's all-time saves list with 16. He is three saves back of second place (Nick Webber, 23 from 2003-05).
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Kurtis Schuyler's win over Missouri Western gave him six on the season and 25 in his career. He ranks seventh on Central Missouri's all-time wins list, one win shy of sixth place (Jason Herz, 26 from 1999-2002).
Mules in the Polls• Central Missouri moved up four spots to No. 17 in this week's Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll. This is the fifth 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 moved up seven spots in the NCBWA Poll to No. 17. UCM stayed in a tie at No. 30 in the College Baseball Lineup poll for the second straight 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 1,756-683-9 (.719) record in 2,448 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 (last 20 in a row)
• 24 MIAA Titles (16 of the last 21, including this year)
• 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 725-171 (.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 open MIAA Tournament First Round play on Thursday, May 1 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field against an opponent to be determined.
