Mules Baseball heads to Joplin to take on No. 22 Missouri Southern

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Quick Hits
• The Central Missouri Mules travel to Joplin to take on 22nd-ranked Missouri Southern in a four-game MIAA series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. The series continues on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. and wraps up on Sunday with a single nine-inning game slated for a noon first pitch.
• 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 73-18 lead in the all-time series with Missouri Southern.
• The Mules went 4-0 against the Lions last year in Warrensburg. UCM swept the series by scores of 3-2, 6-3, 2-1 and 8-4.
• This will be the first meeting between the two schools at Missouri Southern's brand new baseball facility.

Missouri Southern
• Missouri Southern enters the series at 16-1 overall and 8-0 in MIAA play and ranked 22nd in the nation. The Lions have won five straight games, including a four-game sweep of Fort Hays State in Hays last weekend.
• The Lions were picked to finish sixth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. They were 24-26 overall in 2014 and finished 10th in the MIAA with a 17-23 league mark.
• Eighth-year head coach Bryce Darnell has compiled a 188-156 record at Missouri Southern.
• The Lions are hitting .356 as a team with 42 doubles, five triples and 19 home runs. They've driven in 132 runs as a unit.
• Chris Hoffman is hitting a blistering .492 with a team-leading six doubles. He also has two triples, three home runs and 18 RBI.
• Jesse Hall is second on the team with a .463 average. He leads the team with four home runs and has 18 runs batted in.
• Richie Gorski is hitting .419 on the season and leads the team with 20 RBI.
• The pitching staff has a 3.79 ERA through 133.0 innings pitched. They have walked only 30 and struck out 150 during that span. Opponents are hitting just .246 against MSSU pitchers.
• Payton Walker is 4-0 with a 2.25 earned run average in five starts. He's struck out 35 batters and walked only two in 28 innings. He has two complete games.
• Cody Hutchinson is 4-0 with a 4.67 ERA in five appearances and three starts. He has 31 strikeouts and just three walks in 27 innings pitched. He's also thrown two complete games.
• Kanon Hoover is 1-0 with a 1.93 earned run average and a team-leading three saves in five relief appearances. Kyle McCulloch has two saves and is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in five appearances.
• The Lions have a .970 team fielding percentage. They've committed 18 errors on the season. They've turned 14 double plays and have three passed balls.

The Mules
• Central Missouri enters the single nine-inning game at 10-10 overall and 6-6 in MIAA play after splitting a four-game series at Southwest Baptist last weekend and dropping a single non-conference game at Missouri Western on Tuesday.
• The Mules are hitting .243 as a team with 21 doubles, six triples, six home runs and 81 RBI. The Mules have drawn 74 walks on the season with 102 strikeouts.
• Tony Sandifer leads all eligible hitters with a .322 average. He also leads the team in doubles (3), home runs (3) and RBI (14).
• Trevor Jones is batting .321 with a team-leading 25 hits, including two doubles, four triples and nine runs driven in.
• Dusty Maas is hitting .283 with two doubles, a triple and 10 RBI.
• The pitching staff has a 4.39 team ERA through 20 games and 162.0 innings pitched. The staff has 146 strikeouts and 72 walks during that span. Opponents are hitting .255 against UCM pitchers.
• Jake Heissler is 2-0 with a 3.81 ERA in five appearances, including four starts. He's struck out 23 batters in 26.0 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
• Lucas Williams is 3-2 with a 2.84 earned run average in seven relief appearances.
• Tyler House leads the team with 32 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched. He is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts.
• Trevor Ezell is 5-for-5 in save opportunities. He's allowed five runs on 10 hits with five walks and 11 K's in 11.1 innings pitched over eight relief appearances.
• The UCM defense has committed 26 errors and has a .964 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned 13 double plays on the year.

Worth Noting
• The Mules won six straight MIAA series to close out the 2014 regular season, but have split their first three this season.
• Senior outfielder Trevor Jones was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Central Region Second Team.

Tyler House named MIAA Pitcher of the Week
• Junior LHP Tyler House earned MIAA Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance in UCM's 6-1 win at SBU. The Richton Park, Illinois native struck out a season-high 11 batters in a complete-game victory. He scattered six hits and allowed one run.
• It is the first player of the week honor for House and for UCM this season.

Last time out
    March 17, 2015 - (ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) -- The Central Missouri Mules jumped out to an early lead, but Missouri Western rallied to earn a 10-5 non-conference win on Tuesday afternoon. The Mules were out-hit 11-6 in the game and four UCM errors led to four unearned runs for the Griffons.
     The Mules (10-10) jumped on the board early, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Matt Milner had an RBI groundout to plate the first run and Derek Cornell tacked on an RBI single and UCM led 2-0.
    The Mules added another run in the second on Colton Hilbrenner's RBI triple to lead 3-0. Hilbrenner was at third with one out, but UCM couldn't push the extra run across. The Griffons (14-7) came right back with two of their own runs in the bottom of the inning on a Dylon Koch two-run single.
    The Mules took a 4-2 lead in the top of the third when Tony Sandifer scored on a balk, but Missouri Western came right back in the bottom half scoring four unearned runs to take the lead. David Glaude had an RBI single and Cosimo Cannella added one as well to tie the game. Koch then came to the plate and roped a two-RBI single to give the Griffons a 6-4 lead.
    UCM got a run back in the top of the fourth when Trevor Jones tripled home Hilbrenner with one out. Jones ended up stranded at third, however, and the score was 6-5 in favor of MWSU.
    The Griffons added a single run in the bottom of the seventh on Cannella's RBI double and tacked on three more in the eighth to take a 10-5 lead.
    The Mules loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth inning, but were unable to push any runs across.
    Matt Russell (2-1) earned the win for MWSU tossing 2.2 innings of relief. He allowed two runs on two hits, while striking out three.
    Ross Juliana (0-1) took the loss for UCM after giving up six runs, only two earned, on six hits in three innings.
    Jones finished the day 3-for-5 with two triples and an RBI.

Mules in MIAA play
• The Mules are 6-6 in MIAA play under first-year head coach Kyle Crookes after splitting their conference series at Southwest Baptist 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 5-6 on the road this season after splitting a four-game series at Southwest Baptist last weekend and falling at Missouri Western on Tuesday night.
• 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 10-10 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 1,769-696-9 (.717) record in 2,474 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 738-185 (.800) since the year 2000. An average of 49 wins per season over the last 15 years.

A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics
• Following the winter sports seasons, Central Missouri has won a combined 203 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 seven national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003, men's basketball in 2014 and women's indoor track & field in 2015) and nine 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 return home to host Emporia State on Tuesday, March 24 in a single nine-inning non-conference matchup. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• UCM will host Central Oklahoma next weekend for a four-game conference series. It gets underway with a single nine-inning game on Friday, March 27 at 3 p.m. The series continues with a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. and a Sunday single game also at 1 p.m.
• Central Missouri will host Lincoln the following Thursday-Saturday for a four-game MIAA series.