Quick Hits• The Central Missouri Mules return home to host Northeastern State in their final MIAA home series of the regular season.
• The series gets underway on Thurday with a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. The teams will play single games on Friday and Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. both days.
• Saturday is Senior Day for the Mules with UCM's five seniors being honored in a pregame ceremony.
• 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.
Mules Baseball on the air• All four games of the Northeastern State series can be heard live on the Central Missouri Sports Radio Network on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com.
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Bob Jackson will be on the call with the UCM Office of Extended Studies Dugout Show beginning 25 minutes prior to first pitch.
• In addition, Saturday's game will be webcast by the UCM Media Network. Fans can access the pay-per-view webcast at UCMathletics.com/gamecentral.
The Series• The Mules hold a 14-7 lead in the all-time series with Northeastern State.
• The RiverHawks won four of six meetings between the two schools last year.
• The teams split a four-game series in Tahlequah during the regular season before NSU swept the Mules in the MIAA Tournament First Round series in Warrensburg by 6-5 and 11-10 scores.
Northeastern State• Northeastern State enters the weekend series at 23-15 overall and 16-12 in MIAA play after sweeping Lincoln last weekend. The RiverHawks dropped a non-conference game to Arkansas Tech, 7-2, on Tuesday.
• NSU is led by fourth-year head coach Travis Janssen. He has compiled a 76-62 record during his time in Tahlequah. The RiverHawks were 26-28 overall last year and 20-20 in MIAA play.
• The RiverHawks are hitting .321 as a team with 81 doubles, five triples and 32 home runs. They've driven in 262 runs as a unit.
• Nine players are batting .307 or better and 13 players have driven in double digit runs this season. Eleven different players have hit home runs and nine of those have multiple homers.
• Charles Sims leads the team with a .398 batting average. He also has 10 doubles, two home runs and 24 RBI.
• Bryce Davenport bats .383 with 12 doubles, four home runs and a team-leading 35 RBI.
• Cody Begovich is batting .273 with a team-leading seven home runs and 29 RBI.
• The pitching staff has a 4.37 ERA through 38 games and 294.1 innings pitched. They have walked 160 and struck out 289 during that span. Opponents are hitting .268 against Northeastern State pitchers.
• Ryan Helsley is 6-2 with a 3.26 ERA in nine starts this season and has one complete game. He's struck out a staff-leading 70 batters in just 47.0 innings pitched.
• Kyle Shambaugh is 6-0 with a 4.72 earned run average in nine appearances, including seven starts. He's allowed 49 hits and 22 runs in 40.0 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .316 against him.
• Jake Kern is 0-1 with a team-leading nine saves and a 1.80 ERA in 19 relief appearances. He's only just four earned runs in 20 innings of work.
• The RiverHawks have a .968 team fielding percentage. They've committed 40 errors on the season and they've turned 30 double plays.
The Mules• Central Missouri enters the weekend series with Northeastern State at 23-16 overall and 18-10 in MIAA play after taking three out of four games from Washburn last weekend in Topeka.
• The Mules are hitting .287 as a team with 50 doubles, 16 triples, 18 home runs and 197 RBI. The Mules have drawn 140 walks on the season with 210 strikeouts.
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Trevor Jones leads all eligible hitters with a .385 average to go along with seven doubles, six triples, a home run and 21 RBI.
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Tony Sandifer is hitting .316 with six doubles. He also has four home runs and 22 runs driven in.
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Dusty Maas is hitting .313 with five doubles, three triples and 24 RBI.
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Bennett Oliver leads the team with six home runs to go along with a .359 average and is tied for the team-lead with 24 runs driven in.
• The pitching staff has a 4.08 team ERA through 39 games and 310.2 innings pitched. The staff has 274 strikeouts and 116 walks during that span. Opponents are hitting .257 against UCM pitchers.
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Ricky Rivera leads the team with six wins (6-2) to go along with a 3.89 earned run average in 10 appearances and eight starts.
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Carlos D'Armas is 1-1 with a staff-leading 3.02 earned run average in 10 appearances and eight starts. He's struck out 48 batters in 44.2 innings and is holding opponents to a .214 batting average.
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Tyler House is 4-2 with a 3.44 ERA in nine starts. He leads the team with 53 strikeouts in 49.2 innings and has both of the Mules's complete-games this season.
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Lucas Williams is 4-2 with a 2.51 earned run average in 14 relief appearances. He's struck out 20 in 28.2 innings of work and has two saves.
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Trevor Ezell has a team-leading seven saves on the year. He has 20 striketouts in 18.0 innings pitched over 14 relief appearances.
• The UCM defense has committed 44 errors and has a .968 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned 21 double plays on the year.
Worth Noting• UCM has now won three straight conference series after splitting the first four to start the year.
• The Mules hit .320 as a team during the Washburn series overall and .270 (10-for-37) with runners in scoring position.
• Senior outfielder
Trevor Jones was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Central Region Second Team.
Oliver named MIAA Hitter of the Week• Junior first baseman
Bennett Oliver was named MIAA Hitter of the Week for his performance as the Mules went 4-2 last week.
• Oliver hit .529 with a triple, three home runs and 11 RBI and also scored six runs. The Topeka, Kansas native also drew seven walks during the week, had a .640 on-base percentage and slugged 1.176 as UCM moved in to a tie for second place in the MIAA standings. He was on base in every game during the week and finished the week 9-for-17 at the plate.
Last time out   April 12, 2015 - (TOPEKA, Kan.) -- Six runs in the first four innings propelled the Mules baseball team to a 7-3 win on Sunday afternoon to take the series win at Washburn, their third straight victory.
   The Mules (23-16, 18-10 MIAA) scored three times in the top of the first, giving starting pitcher
Ricky Rivera a strong cushion to work with against the Ichabod offense. Following a pair of one out walks in the top of the first, junior
Bennett Oliver stroked a single to left center, driving in the game's first two runs. After Oliver advanced to third base on a single and an error by the Washburn left fielder, he advanced home on a sacrifice fly by
Matt Milner, bumping the lead to 3-0.
   Central Missouri received a fourth run in the top of the second on a sacrifice bunt to pitcher by senior
Dusty Maas, plating
Colton Hilbrenner who led off the inning with a walk.
   Oliver's team-leading sixth homerun to right center to lead off the top of the third gave the Mules a 5-0 cushion. It was Oliver's second long ball of the series.
   With runners on second and third and no outs, a second sacrifice bunt to the pitcher by Maas put the Mules ahead, 6-0 in the top of the fourth.
   In the home half of the fourth, the Ichabods' Corey Gragg singled home a run with two outs to make it a 6-1 ballgame. The Ichabods got two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double from Connor Crimmins and an RBI single by Gragg.
   A seventh run came across for the Mules in the top of the eighth. With runners on first and third,
Derek Cornell was picked off, 3-6-3-6-3, but allowed senior
Trevor Jones to score from third base.
   Sophomore pitcher
Grant Gavin relieved Rivera in the eighth inning and tossed two scoreless innings. He struck out three batters.
   Rivera (6-2) allowed six hits on three runs (all earned), while walking three and striking out a pair.
   Oliver finished the afternoon going 2-for-3 with a homerun, three RBI, two runs scored and two walks. Jones went 3-for-5 with a run scored from the leadoff spot.
Mules in MIAA play• The Mules are 18-10 in MIAA play under first-year head coach
Kyle Crookes after taking three out of four games at Washburn last weekend.
• The Mules have now won three straight conference series after splitting each of their first four series of the season.
• 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 5-6 in non-conference games this season after splitting a doubleheader at Drury on Tuesday, April 7.
• UCM was 3-8 in non-conference games last season.
The Mules at home• The Mules are 9-4 at home this season after winning all four games against Lincoln last weekend.
• UCM was 18-5 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field last year.
• The Mules are 749-148-1 (.835) in 898 games played in this, their 40th season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Mules on the road• The Mules are 11-10 on the road this season after taking three out of four games at Washburn last weekend.
• 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.
Three-Bagger• Senior outfielder
Trevor Jones leads the team and has set a new career-high with six triples this season. That total ranks 11th in a single-season in school history.
• His 12 career triples are tied for the seventh most in program history with Clabe Gaines (2001-02) and Brian McBryde (2005-08). He is one triple shy of sixth place and three shy of fourth place all-time at UCM.
Streaking Mules• The Mules have won 11 of their last 14 games since falling to Emporia State in a non-conference game back on March 24.
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Trevor Jones currently has a 16-game hitting streak. During the streak he is hitting .462 with six extra-base hits and 12 RBI. During that same span,
Bennett Oliver is hitting .463 with nine extra-base hits, including six home runs, 18 RBI and 16 runs scored.
Crookes era underway• The Mules are 23-16 in
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 1,782-702-9 (.717) record in 2,493 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 751-191 (.797) 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.
• During the 2013-14 year, 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 wrap up their regular season home schedule on Tuesday, April 21 hosting Rockhurst in a non-conference game at 6 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• UCM wraps up the regular season next weekend with a four-game series at Lindenwood April 24-26.
