Mules set to host Rockhurst in final regular season home game

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Quick Hits
• The Central Missouri Mules wrap up their regular season home schedule hosting Rockhurst in a non-conference game on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• The Mules we qre 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
• Tuesday's game with Rockhurst can be heard live on the Central Missouri Sports Radio Network on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com.
• Bob Jackson will be on the call with the UCM Office of Extended Studies Dugout Show beginning 25 minutes prior to first pitch.
• There will also be a pay-per-view webcast available at UCMathletics.com/gamecentral. The game is being produced by the student-run UCM Media Network.

The Series
• The Mules hold a 31-7 lead in the all-time series with Rockhurst.
• The teams last met during the 2012 season when the Mules captured a 3-0 win in Warrensburg.

Rockhurst
• Rockhurst enters the non-conference matchup at 18-23 overall and 10-16 in the GLVC.
• RU is led by 22nd-year head coach Gary Burns. He has compiled a 658-493 record while leading the Hawks.
• The Hawks are hitting .290 as a team with 61 doubles, seven triples and 15 home runs. They've driven in 190 runs as a unit.
• Five players are batting .301 or better.
• Brett Marr is tied for the team lead with a .372 batting average. He has eight doubles, four home runs and a team-best 30 RBI.
• Caleb Baker is also hitting .372 in 40 games played. He has six doubles, a triple and 28 runs driven in.
• Jake Jones is batting .363, while David Stober hits .311 with three home runs and 14 driven in.
• The RU pitching staff has a 4.97 ERA through 41 games and 326.0 innings pitched. They have walked just 93 batters and struck out 219 during that span. Opponents are hitting .291 against Hawk pitchers.
• Grant Otte is 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA in eight appearances and five starts this season.
• Joe Huber is 5-3 with a 3.75 earned run average in nine appearances and eight starts. He leads the staff with 58 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched.
• The Hawks have a .963 team fielding percentage. They've committed 55 errors on the season and they've turned 91 double plays.

The Mules
• Central Missouri enters the non-conference matchup at 27-16 overall and 22-10 in MIAA play after sweeping a four-game series with Northeastern State last weekend.
• The Mules are hitting .294 as a team with 60 doubles, 16 triples, 19 home runs and 229 RBI. The Mules have drawn 153 walks on the season with 223 strikeouts.
• Trevor Jones leads all eligible hitters with a .390 average to go along with eight doubles, six triples, a home run and 24 RBI.
• Tony Sandifer is hitting .323 with eight doubles. He also has four home runs and 23 runs driven in.
• Dusty Maas is hitting .309 with six doubles, three triples and 24 RBI.
• Bennett Oliver leads the team with six home runs to go along with a .385 average and also leads the team with 30 runs driven in.
• The pitching staff has a 4.15 team ERA through 43 games and 342.2 innings pitched. The staff has 296 strikeouts and 128 walks during that span. Opponents are hitting .257 against UCM pitchers.
• Ricky Rivera leads the team with six wins (6-2) to go along with a 4.32 earned run average in 11 appearances and nine starts.
• Carlos D'Armas is 2-1 with a staff-leading 2.61 earned run average in 11 appearances and nine starts. He's struck out 51 batters in 51.2 innings and is holding opponents to a .211 batting average.
• Tyler House is 4-2 with a 3.52 ERA in 10 starts. He leads the team with 53 strikeouts in 53.2 innings and has two of the Mules' three complete-games this season.
• Lucas Williams is 5-2 with a 2.84 earned run average in 16 relief appearances. He's struck out 25 in 31.2 innings of work and has two saves.
• The UCM defense has committed 52 errors and has a .966 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned 23 double plays on the year.

Worth Noting
• UCM has now won four straight conference series after splitting the first four to start the year.
• The Mules hit .360 as a team during the Northeastern State series and .407 (22-of-54) with runners in scoring position.
• Seven players hit .357 or better during the Northeastern State series.
• Senior outfielder Trevor Jones was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Central Region Second Team.

Last time out
    April 17, 2015 - (WARRENSBURG, Mo.) -- The Central Missouri Mules completed the series sweep of Northeastern State and ran their win streak to seven games with a doubleheader sweep on Friday afternoon at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field. The Mules won the opener 5-4 in walkoff fashion before taking the nightcap 9-6.
    Northeastern State (23-19, 16-16 MIAA) jumped on top early in game one with three runs in the second inning. Following a pair of one-out walks, Cody Begovich belted a three-run home run to left center to put NSU in front. The Mules (27-16, 22-10 MIAA) got a run back in the bottom half on Matt Milner's RBI double to make it 3-1.
    Charles Sims had an RBI groundout in the fifth and the RiverHawks led 4-1, but Trevor Jones' two-run single in the bottom half pulled UCM to within 4-3. That lead stood until the bottom of the seventh.
    Colton Hilbrenner reached base on a throwing error and Colin Frederick drew a pinch-hit walk to put two runners on with one out. Jones was hit by a pitch to load the bases and following a pop up to second base, Derek Cornell stroked a two-run single to right to give the Mules the 5-4 walk-off win.
    Austin Southmayd (1-0) earned his first career win tossing three innings of no-hit relief. He struck out three and didn't walk a batter. Starter Jake Heissler allowed four runs on just two hits in four innings of work, he walked three and struck out five.
    Jake Kern (0-2) took the loss for the RiverHawks after giving up two runs on one hit in two-thirds of an inning.
    The Mules jumped on top early in game two with a pair of first inning runs. Cornell had an RBI single and another run came across on a double play.
    NSU got a run in the third on Jorge Ozuna's solo home run, but UCM came right back in the bottom half with a Bennett Oliver RBI single to make it 3-1.
    The RiverHawks tied the game at three in the fourth on Jamie Graeser's two-run single and they went in front in the fifth with two more runs. The Mules got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on Cornell's RBI single to right to make it 5-4.
    UCM went back in front 6-5 in the sixth on Dylan Farrell's two-run double off the wall in right center. The lead was short-lived, however, as Licio Tamburlini singled home a run in the seventh tying the game for the RiverHawks.
    Tony Sandifer had a sac bunt that brought home the go ahead run in the bottom of the seventh and RBI singles from Milner and Billy Maloney made it 9-6 Mules.
    Lucas Williams (5-2) earned the win in relief for UCM after allowing one run on two hits in an inning of relief. Grant Gavin tossed two innings of one-hit relief to earn his second save of the season. Starter Ricky Rivera allowed five runs on 10 hits in six innings.
    Clay Debban (1-1) took the loss for the RiverHawks after allowing three runs on three hits in just two-thirds of an inning of work. Six NSU pitchers appeared in the game.

Mules in MIAA play
• The Mules are 22-10 in MIAA play under first-year head coach Kyle Crookes after sweeping Northeastern State in a four-game series last weekend.
• The Mules have now won four 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 13-4 at home this season after winning all four games against Northeastern State last weekend.
• UCM was 18-5 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field last year.
• The Mules are 753-148-1 (.835) in 902 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 seven straight and 15 of their last 18 games since falling to Emporia State in a non-conference game back on March 24.
• Trevor Jones currently has a 20-game hitting streak. During the streak he is hitting .457 with eight extra-base hits, 15 RBI and 19 runs scored. He has reached base safely in 29 straight games.
• During that same 20-game span, Bennett Oliver is hitting .481 with nine extra-base hits, including six home runs, 24 RBI and 20 runs scored.

Crookes era underway
• The Mules are 27-16 (.628) 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 1,786-702-9 (.717) record in 2,497 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 755-191 (.798) 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 the regular season this weekend with a four-game series at Lindenwood April 24-26. The series gets underway on Friday, April 24 with a single game at 6 p.m.
• The MIAA Tournament gets underway next weekend with the best-of-three first round series on Thursday, April 30. The top four teams in the standings will host the next four teams in those series.