Mules Baseball heads to Bolivar for four-game set with SBU

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Quick Hits
• The Central Missouri Mules travel to Bolivar to take on Southwest Baptist in a four-game MIAA series. The teams will play a doubleheader on Thursday at 1 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
• 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 Mules hold a 94-10-1 lead in the all-time series with Southwest Baptist.
• The Mules went 3-1 against the Bearcats last season in Warrensburg. The Mules won the series opener 6-0 before falling in game two 10-6. UCM came back to take the final two games of the series by scores of 3-1 and 8-4.

Southwest Baptist
• Southwest Baptist enters the series at 4-9 overall and 1-7 in MIAA play after dropping three out of four games to Northeastern State. The Bearcats were swept by Washburn in Wichita in their MIAA-opening series.
• The Bearcats were picked to finish seventh in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. They were 29-24 overall in 2014 and finished fifth in the MIAA with a 24-15 league mark.
• Fourth-year head coach Chris Martin has compiled a 73-88-1 record at Southwest Baptist.
• The Bearcats are hitting .272 as a team with 19 doubles, two triples and 11 home runs. They've driven in 65 runs as a unit.
• Christian Binger leads the team in hitting at .381 and is one of five players hitting .303 or better. He also has two home runs and 10 RBI, both second on the squad and leads the team with a .536 on-base percentage.
• Spencer Blacksher leads the team with five home runs and 13 driven in while hitting .386.
• Ross Wolfe is batting .356 with a team-leading 16 hits and five doubles. He's also driven in eigh runs and scored 10.
• The pitching staff has a 5.98 ERA through 96.1 innings pitched. They have walked 46 and struck out 82 during that span. Opponents are hitting .289 against SBU pitchers.
• Michael Proiette is 2-0 with a 3.80 ERA in three starts. He leads the staff with 29 strikeouts in 21.1 innings.
• Cole Roark is 0-3 with a 6.38 earned run average in four starts.
• Evan Stransky has a 0.00 ERA in 5.0 innings pitched over two relief appearances.
• Sam Vergara is 0-1 with a 7.88 ERA and has the staff's lone save in five relief appearances. He's allowed eight runs on seven hits in 8.0 innings of work.
• The Bearcats have a .964 team fielding percentage. They've committed 16 errors on the season. They've turned nine double plays and have five passed balls.

The Mules
• Central Missouri enters the weekend at 8-7 overall and 4-4 in MIAA play after splitting the home-opening four game series with Northwest Missouri State last weekend.
• The Mules are hitting .237 as a team with 13 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 57 RBI.
• Tony Sandifer leads all eligible hitters with a .298 average. He also leads the team in doubles (3), home runs (3) and RBI (11).
• Trevor Jones is batting .291 with a team-leading 16 hits, including a double, two triples and seven runs driven in.
• Dusty Maas is hitting .289 with a double, triple and 10 RBI.
• The pitching staff has a 3.99 team ERA through the first 15 games and 124.0 innings pitched. The staff has 109 strikeouts and 58 walks during that span. Opponents are hitting .247 against UCM pitchers.
• Jake Heissler is 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA in four appearances, including three starts. He's struck out 17 batters in 20.2 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .178 batting average.
• Lucas Williams is 2-1 with a 2.35 earned run average in five relief appearances.
• Tyler House leads the team with 21 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. He is 1-2 with a 5.57 ERA in four starts.
• Trevor Ezell is 5-for-5 in save opportunities. He's allowed two runs on six hits with five walks and 10 K's in 10.1 innings pitched over seven relief appearances.
• The UCM defense has committed 20 errors and has a .964 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned 11 double plays on the year.

Worth Noting
• Central Missouri hit .330 as a team during the four-game series with Northwest Missouri. UCM scored 26 runs over the four games.
• The Mules hit .444 (16-for-36) with runners in scoring position during the Northwest Missouri series.
• UCM pitchers held the Bearcats to 7-for-37 (.189) with runners in scoring position.
• The Mules won six straight MIAA series to close out the 2014 regular season, but have split their first two this season.
• Senior outfielder Trevor Jones was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Central Region Second Team.

Last time out
    March 9, 2015 - (WARRENSBURG, Mo.) -- The Central Missouri bats came alive as the Mules pounded out 15 hits en route to a 14-4 run-rule victory over Northwest Missouri in the series finale on Monday afternoon at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field. The win gave the Mules a series split with the Bearcats and improved UCM's record to 8-7 overall and 4-4 in MIAA play.
    The Mules jumped on top 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Dusty Maas led off with a single, one of four hits in the game for him, and came around to score on Trevor Jones' RBI triple. The centerfielder bobbled the ball in the outfield allowing Jones to come all the way around and score on the hit.
    The Bearcats (6-9, 4-4 MIAA) tied the game with a pair of runs of their own in the top of the third. Nick Howard had an RBI fielder's choice to drive in one and Nick Gotta scored on an attempted steal by Howard. Gotta was able to cross home plate before Howard was tagged out in a run down.
    UCM went back in front 3-2 on Trevor Ezell's sacrifice fly in the fourth. The Mules blew the game wide open scoring six runs in the fifth inning and five more in the sixth. Jones, John Oliver, Jake Alexander, and Ezell all had RBI singles in the fifth and Maas added a two-run single as well. In the sixth, Bennett Oliver, J. Oliver, Alexander and Maas all had RBI singles and B. Oliver also scored on a passed ball to put UCM in front 14-2.
    The Bearcats scored two unearned runs in the seventh, but Blake Kolons recorded got Steven Garber to ground out to end the inning and give UCM the run-rule victory.
    Maas finished the 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Jones and Alexander both finished the day 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. J. Oliver and Ezell both drove in a pair.
    Ricky Rivera (2-1) picked up the win after allowing two runs on seven hits in six innings of work. He struck out five and walked two. Kolons pitched the seventh for UCM.
    Nikko Pablo (1-2) took the loss for Northwest Missouri after giving up nine runs, seven earned, on nine hits in 4.2 innings pitched.

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.

Mules in the Polls
• Central Missouri is unranked in all four Division II ranking publications.

Mules in MIAA play
• The Mules are 4-4 in MIAA play under first-year head coach Kyle Crookes after splitting their conference series with Northwest Missouri at home last weekend.
• 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.

Mules in non-conference action
• The Mules are 4-3 in non-conference games this season after going 2-1 in Magnolia, Arkansas on Feb. 13 and 14. The Mules split a doubleheader with then-No. 9 Southern Arkansas and beat Lincoln in a single non-conference meeting.
• UCM was 3-8 in non-conference games last season.

The Mules at home
• The Mules are 2-2 at home this season after splitting a four-game series with Northwest Missouri last weekend.
• UCM was 18-5 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field last year.
• The Mules are 742-146-1 (.835) in 889 games played in this, their 40th season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.

Mules on the road
• The Mules are 3-3 on the road this season after splitting a four-game series at Fort Hays State to open MIAA play Feb. 19-20.
• UCM split a doubleheader at Southern Arkansas on February 13.
• The Mules were 15-9 on the road last season.

Mules at neutral sites
• The Mules are 3-2 in neutral site games this season after beating Lincoln in Magnolia, Arkansas back on February 14.
• UCM was 2-2 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas to open the season.

Crookes era underway
• The Mules are 8-7 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 1,767-693-9 (.717) record in 2,469 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 736-182 (.802) since the year 2000. An average of 49 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 will play five games next week, beginning with a single non-conference matchup with Missouri Western on Tuesday, March 17 at 4 p.m. in St. Joseph.
• UCM will travel to Missouri Southern next weekend for a four-game MIAA series. The set gets underway with a single game on Friday, March 20 at 6 p.m. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and a single game on Sunday with a noon first pitch.