Quick Hits• The 12th-ranked Central Missouri Mules open MIAA Tournament play by hosting Northeastern State in the tournament's first round, best of three series. Game one is set for Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• UCM won the fourth MIAA Regular Season Championship under head coach Tom Myers and the 24th in school history this year.
• 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 of the Mules' postseason games will be broadcast on the Central Missouri Sports Network on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com.
Bob Jackson will have all the play-by-play action.
Ticket Information• All tickets for the MIAA Baseball Tournament First Round series this weekend are $5. Central Missouri students with valid ID will get in for free thanks to the generosity of UCM President Dr. Chuck Ambrose, who is purchasing tickets for students.
The Series• The Mules lead the all-time series with Northeastern State 14-5, including a 5-4 mark during the Tom Myers era.
• The teams split a four-game series in Tahlequah earlier this season. The Mules won the opener 3-1 and game three, 8-5. The RiverHawks won game two 5-4 and the finale, 4-3 in 11 innings.
Northeastern State• Northeastern State enters the MIAA Tournament as the No. 8 seed at 24-26 overall and 20-20 in MIAA play.
• The RiverHawks are batting .291 as a team. They have 82 doubles, eight triples, 36 home runs and 250 RBI as a unit.
• Cody Robinson leads the team with a .342 batting average to go along with 16 doubles, 16 home runs and 41 RBI. He hit .462 with three home runs and six RBI against the Mules earlier this season.
• Caleb Hill is second on the team in hitting with a .317 average.
• Six players are hitting .301 or better.
• Kyle Singleton is hitting .293 and is second on the squad with seven home runs and 33 RBI.
• There are 11 RiverHawks with at least 11 runs batted in.
• The pitching staff has a 5.51 staff ERA in 50 games and 385.1 innings pitched. The staff has walked 216 batters and struck out 239 in that span.
• Ryan Helsley is 6-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 12 appearances, including seven starts. He has a staff-leading 49 strikeouts in 52.0 innings pitched.
• Kyle Shambaugh has thrown a team-high 55.1 innings over 12 appearances and 11 starts. He is 2-4 with a 4.23 ERA.
• Bryan McClellan is 5-5 with a 5.70 earned run average in 16 appearances. He recorded recorded one of the wins over UCM in the series earlier this year.
• The RiverHawks have committed 83 errors in the field and have a .952 team fielding percentage. They have turned 39 double plays this year as a team.
• Opponents are 75 of 96 in stolen base attempts against Northeastern State this season.
The Mules• Central Missouri enters the MIAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed at 35-14 overall and 32-8 in MIAA play after taking three out of four at Central Oklahoma last weekend.
• The Mules are hitting .321 as a team with 75 doubles, nine triples, 20 home runs and 296 RBI. They have eight players hitting .301 or better and they've drawn 214 walks on the season.
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Brad Wilson leads the team in hitting with a .382 average and also has a team-best five home runs to go along with two triples and 41 RBI.
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Tony Sandifer is hitting .378 with four home runs and team-leading 48 runs driven in.
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Jake Alexander is hitting .368. He also has five doubles and 32 RBI.
• 11 players have at least 13 runs batted in.
• The pitching staff has a 4.13 team ERA in 49 games and 381.1 innings pitched. The staff has registered 357 strikeouts and 149 walks during that span.
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Kurtis Schuyler is 7-2 with a 2.92 ERA in 12 starts. He's tossed a staff-leading 64.2 innings and has 48 strikeouts.
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Ricky Rivera is 6-1 with a 3.79 ERA in 61.20 innings pitched over 11 starts.
Zach Davis is 3-1 with a team-leading 2.19 earned run average over 37.0 innings and 23 relief appearances. He leads the relievers with 12 saves, the second most in a single-season in school history.
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Kyle Gehrs is 7-3 with a 3.86 earned run average in 13 appearances, including 10 starts. He leads the team with 60 strikeouts in 56.0 innings pitched.
• The UCM defense has committed 56 errors and has a .965 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned 26 double plays on the year.
Worth Noting• The Mules have scored at least one run in 395 of the 400 games played under head coach Tom Myers.
• The Mules hit .344 (22-for-64) with runners in scoring position during the UCO series, while limiting the Bronchos to a .178 (8-for-45) average with runners in scoring position. The Mules were 6-for-13 (.438) with the bases loaded in the series.
• In the regular season series in Tahlequah, Cody Robinson hit .462 (6-for-13) with a double, three home runs and six RBI. The rest of the team hit a combined .184 (19-for-103) with four doubles, a home run and six RBI in the series.
Last time out April 27, 2014 - (EDMOND, Okla.) -- The 17th-ranked Central Missouri Mules closed out the regular season on a three-game winning streak after beating Central Oklahoma 10-7 on Sunday at Wendall Simmons Field. The Mules rallied from a 6-2 deficit to earn the win. UCM earns the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MIAA Tournament and will host eighth-seeded Northeastern State in a best of three series.
The Mules (35-14, 32-8 MIAA) got on the board in the top of the first on
Brad Wilson's RBI single that scored
Trevor Jones. The Bronchos (34-14, 26-14 MIAA) wasted no time in the home half of the inning getting back-to-back homers from Matt Johnson and Jake O'Brien to take a 3-1 lead.
The Mules scored a run in the second on Jones' RBI triple, but UCO came back with two more runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-2 lead. The lead grew to 6-2 in the bottom of the third when Josh Ingram doubled in another run.
The Broncho lead stood until the sixth when the Mules erupted for five runs to take a 7-6 lead.
Seth Wheeler got things started with an RBI single that scored
Hunter Johnson. Jones added another RBI single to make it 6-4 and
Jake Alexander's RBI single made it 6-5.
Tony Sandifer put UCM in front 7-6 when he laced a two-run double to left center.
UCM tacked on three more runs in the eighth to extend the lead to 10-6. Wilson had a two-run double and later scored on
Kevin Gratza's RBI single up the middle. The Bronchos plated one run in the ninth on an O'Brien RBI single, but
Zach Davis came on to save the game and give the Mules the victory.
Zak Anstine (1-1) picked up the win after tossing 5.2 innings of solid relief. He scattered six hits and struck out 11 en route to his first win of the season. Davis recorded his 12th save of the season, moving him into sole possession of second place on UCM's single-season saves list. His 19th career save moves him into a tie for second place all-time at UCM with Nick Webber (2003-05).
Phillip Wilson (3-2) took the loss for Central Oklahoma after giving up five runs on five hits in two innings of relief.
Jones finished the day with three hits and a pair of RBI, while Wilson went 2-for-4 with three runs driven in and Sandifer added two RBI.
Mules in MIAA play• Central Missouri finished 32-8 this season in MIAA play and captured the fourth MIAA regular season crown under Tom Myers. The Mules are 218-50 in MIAA play under Myers after winning three out of four games at Central Oklahoma to close out the regular season.
• 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 15-9 on the road this season after taking three out of four games from Central Oklahoma to close out the regular season.
• UCM was 18-5 on the road last season and the Mules are 142-41 in road games during the Tom Myers era.
Mules in the NCAA-II Regional Rankings• Central Missouri moved up one spot to No. 7 in the latest 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 311-89 (.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 outright MIAA Championship• Central Missouri claimed an outright MIAA Regular Season Championship with their first win over Central Oklahoma last weekend.
• This is the fourth MIAA title under head coach Tom Myers and the 24th conference crown in school history.
• The Mules have won 16 of the last 21 conference championships.
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 three saves in the Central Oklahoma series,
Zach Davis moved into second on UCM's single-season saves list with 12. He also moved into a tie for second place on the school's all-time saves list with 19. He is tied with Nick Webber (23 from 2003-05).
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Kurtis Schuyler's win over Central Oklahoma gave him seven on the season and 26 in his career. He ranks sixth on Central Missouri's all-time wins list, tied with Jason Herz (26 from 1999-2002).
Mules in the Polls• Central Missouri moved up five spots to No. 12 in this week's Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll. This is the sixth 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 stayed at No. 17 in the NCBWA Poll for the second straight week. They moved up three spots to No. 27 in the College Baseball Lineup poll as well.
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. Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Monday, May 12.
Mules Baseball history• In the 58th season of UCM baseball the Mules have compiled a 1,759-684-9 (.719) record in 2,452 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 728-172 (.809) record since 2000, the most wins of any program in NCAA Division I, II, or III. That is an average of 48.5 wins per season over the last 15 years.
A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics• Following the 2013-14 spring sports regular season, Central Missouri has won a combined 200 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• The Mules and Jennies have captured seven MIAA regular season titles this year and two tournament championships.
• For the second time in school history, Central Missouri has won seven MIAA regular season titles in one academic year. UCM is the only school in league history to accomplish that feat.
• 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 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 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• If the Mules beat Northeastern State two out of three games they will advance to the MIAA Tournament Final Four in Springfield, Mo. May 8-10 at Hammons Field.
