Mules welcome Northwest Missouri for home opener

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Quick Hits
• The Central Missouri Mules host Northwest Missouri State for a four-game series in the home opener at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• The series will consist of a single game on Saturday at 3 p.m., a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday and a single-game on Monday 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 136-65 lead in the all-time series with Northwest Missouri.
• The Mules went 3-1 against the Bearcats last season in Maryville. The Mules won the first two games of the series, 9-6 and 6-1 before NWMSU won game three 4-3. UCM took the series finale by a score of 9-0.

Northwest Missouri
• Northwest Missouri enters the game at 4-7 overall and 2-2 in league play after splitting a four-game series at Northeastern State back on Feb. 19 and 20.
• The Bearcats were picked to finish 13th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. They were 23-23 overall in 2014 and finished ninth in the MIAA with a 17-20 league mark.
• 15th-year head coach Darin Loe has compiled a 376-369 record at Northwest Missouri State. He is 532-503 in his 21st year as a college head coach.
• The Bearcats are hitting .262 as a team with 16 doubles, two triples and six home runs. They've driven in 56 runs as a unit.
• Nick Gotta leads the team in hitting at .378 and is one of four players hitting above .300.
• Nick Howard is hitting .308 with a team-leading three home runs and 14 RBI.
• Steven Garber is hitting .317 with four doubles and eight RBI, while playing in all 11 games.
• The pitching staff has a 5.61 ERA through 85.0 innings pitched. They have walked 56 and struck out 75 during that span. Opponents are hitting .278 against NWMSU pitchers.
• Anthony Caenepeel is 1-0 with a 5.19 ERA in three starts. He's thrown a team-leading 17.1 innings, giving up 10 runs on 16 hits.
• Joseph Hietpas is 0-2 with a 4.26 earned run average in four appearances and two starts. He leads the staff with 17 strikeouts in 12.2 innings pitched.
• Carson Smith has a 0.00 ERA and two of the staff's three saves in four relief appearances. He has given up one hit in 5.1 innings.
• The Bearcats have a .952 team fielding percentage. They've committed 18 errors on the season. They've turned four double plays and have three passed balls.

The Mules
• Central Missouri enters the weekend at 6-5 overall and 2-2 in MIAA play after splitting the conference-opening four game series at Fort Hays State.
• The Mules are hitting .207 as a team with nine doubles, a triple, three home runs and 33 RBI.
• Tony Sandifer leads all eligible hitters with a .273 average. He is tied for the team lead with one home run and leads with eight RBI.
• Trevor Jones is batting .262, he has the team's only triple and five RBI.
• The pitching staff has a 4.21 team ERA through the first 11 games and 94.0 innings pitched. The staff has 91 strikeouts and 46 walks during that span. Opponents are hitting .239 against UCM pitchers.
• Jake Heissler is 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA in three appearances and two starts. He's struck out 15 batters in 14.2 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .154 batting average.
• Lucas Williams is 2-1 with a 2.92 earned run average in three relief appearances.
• Carlos D'Armas leads the team with 18 strikeouts in 14.1 innings pitched. He is 0-1 with a 4.40 ERA in three starts.
• Trevor Ezell is 4-for-4 in save opportunities. He's allowed two hits with two walks and seven K's in 7.1 innings pitched over four relief appearances.
• The UCM defense has committed 16 errors and has a .962 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned seven double plays on the year.

Worth Noting
• The Mules hit .277 and scored 21 runs in the four-game series at Fort Hays State. Seven different players drove in runs.
• UCM hit .273 (12-for-44) with runners in scoring position in the FHSU series, including 3-for-4 with the bases loaded.
• The Mules won six straight MIAA series to close out the 2014 regular season.
• Senior outfielder Trevor Jones was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Central Region Second Team.

Last time out
    February 20, 2015 - (HAYS, Kan.) -- The Central Missouri Mules rebounded from a doubleheader sweep yesterday to earn a split in their four-game series at Fort Hays State with a doubleheader sweep on Friday afternoon at Larks Park. The Mules won the opener 5-2 and then held off a late Tiger rally to win the nightcap 7-5.
    The Mules (6-5, 2-2 MIAA) scored twice in the second inning of game one and three times in the third to grab a 5-0 lead. Trevor Ezell had an RBI single to get the scoring started for UCM in the second and he later scored when Jake Nickelson stole second base. Miles Orscheln led off the third inning with his first collegiate home run to give the Mules a 3-0 lead and Bennett Oliver's RBI single made it 4-0. Collin Nevil scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to give the Mules a five-run cushion.
    Fort Hays State (2-4, 2-2 MIAA) got on the board with two runs in the fifth, Gus Strunk had an RBI double and Alex King added a sacrifice fly for the Tigers.
    Starter Jake Heissler (2-0) earned the win for Central Missouri after tossing 4.1 innings allowing two runs on just two hits. He struck out four and walked three. Grant Gavin picked up his first collegiate save pitching the final 2.2 innings allowing just one hit while fanning two.
    Gabe Cook (0-1) took the loss for FHSU after giving up five runs on seven hits in just 2.1 innings.
    Central Missouri out-hit Fort Hays State 10-3 in the game.
    Game two got off to a fast start with both teams plating a pair of runs in the first inning. Austin Unrein and Andre Vieyra had RBI singles for the Tigers while Trevor Jones and Tony Sandifer each knocked in a run for UCM.
    The Mules jumped on top 3-2 in the third when Jones singled home Orscheln. The lead grew to 6-2 with three more runs in the fourth. Nickelson drove in a pair with a single to right and Dusty Maas added a sacrifice fly later in the frame.
    The Tigers scored three times in the seventh on just two hits to pull within a run at 6-5. Two walks and two hit batters aided FHSU in the inning and Caleb Cherryholmes delivered a two-run single. UCM got one run back in the bottom of the inning when Jackson Schnurbusch scored on a Tiger error to give UCM a two-run lead.
    Ezell came on to record the final seven outs for the Mules to earn his fourth save of the season. Ricky Rivera (1-1) picked up the win after tossing 6.2 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. He struck out five and walked four.
    Brad Spires (0-2) took the loss for Fort Hays State after surrendering six runs on four hits in 3.1 innings. He walked five and struck out five.
    Orscheln finished the day with four hits and two RBI while Jones and Nickelson each drove in a pair of runs as well.

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.
• UCM is scheduled to open MIAA play Feb. 20-22 hosting Fort Hays State in a four-game series at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.

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

Mules in MIAA play
• The Mules are 2-2 in MIAA play under first-year head coach Kyle Crookes after splitting their conference-opening series at Fort Hays State 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 were 18-5 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field last year.
• The Mules are 740-144-1 (.837) in 885 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 last weekend.
• 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 6-5 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 1,765-691-9 (.718) record in 2,465 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 734-180 (.803) since the year 2000. An average of 48.8 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 travel to Bolivar, Missouri to take on Southwest Baptist March 12-14 in a four-game series. The teams will play a single game on Thursday at 3 p.m., a doubleheader on Friday starting at 2 p.m. and a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m.