Quick Hits• The Central Missouri Mules open MIAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed hosting sixth-seeded Nebraska-Kearney.
• The best-of-three series gets underway on Thursday night at 6 p.m. Game two will be Friday night at 6 p.m. and Saturday's "if necessary" game three will be at 2 p.m.
Tickets• Tickets for the MIAA Tournament First Round series will be $5 per person with children six and under permitted free of charge with a paying adult. No passes will be accepted for the postseason tournament.
• UCM students, with valid ID, will get in free of charge compliments of UCM President Dr. Chuck Ambrose.
The Series• The Mules hold a 5-3 lead in the all-time series with Nebraska-Kearney
• The teams did not meet during the regular season. They split a four-game series in Kearney last year with the Mules winning games one and two (11-7, 8-1) and the Lopers taking games three and four (20-3, 8-2).
Mules Baseball on the air• All three games of the MIAA Tournament First Round series against Nebraska-Kearney 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, a pay-per-view webcast will be available from the student-run UCM Media Network. Fans can access the webcast at UCMathletics.com/gamecentral.
Nebraska-Kearney• Nebraska-Kearney enters the MIAA Tournament First Round series at 29-19 overall. They finished the regular season 22-14 in MIAA play.
• UNK is led by 12th-year head coach Damon Day. He has compiled a 333-310 record while leading the Lopers.
• The Lopers are hitting .330 as a team with 129 doubles, 15 triples and 70 home runs. They've driven in 372 runs as a unit.
• Nine Nebraska-Kearney players are batting .305 or better.
• Dillon Schroeder leads the team with a .400 batting average. He also has 15 doubles, six home runs and a team-leading 46 RBI.
• Danny Droll is batting .365 with a team-leading 20 doubles and he also has 35 runs batted in.
• Brandon Landanger (.354) and Anthony Pacheco (.339) are tied for the team lead with 11 home runs each. Landanger also has 13 doubles, four triples, and 35 RBI, while Pacheco has 15 doubles and 45 runs batted in.
• The UNK pitching staff has a 5.50 ERA through 48 games and 373.0 innings pitched. They have walked just 121 batters and struck out 310 during that span. Opponents are hitting .302 against Loper pitchers.
• Aaron Smith is 7-2 with a 4.12 ERA in 17 appearances and six starts. He's tied for the team lead with 52 strikeouts in 54.2 innings pitched. He is tied for the team lead with three complete games.
• Chris Sievers is 4-2 with a 4.18 earned run average in 10 starts (11 app) and also has 52 K's in 51.2 innings.
• Joe Smidt has a staff-low 3.86 earned run average in 18 relief appearances. He also has all nine of UNK's saves this year.
• Jacob Dittman is 3-5 with a 6.34 ERA and three complete games in eight starts (13 total appearances).
• The Lopers have used 10 pitchers this season, compared to 14 for the Mules.
• The Lopers have a .965 team fielding percentage. They've committed 57 errors on the season and they've turned 37 double plays.
The Mules• Central Missouri enters the MIAA Tournament First Round series at 28-20 overall after finishing 23-13 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are hitting .292 as a team with 69 doubles, 17 triples, 20 home runs and 257 RBI. The Mules have drawn 169 walks on the season with 254 strikeouts.
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Trevor Jones leads all eligible hitters with a .378 average to go along with nine doubles, six triples, a home run and 24 RBI.
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Tony Sandifer is hitting .329 with 11 doubles. He also has four home runs and 28 runs driven in.
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Dusty Maas is hitting .294 with six doubles, three triples and 25 RBI.
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Bennett Oliver leads the team with six home runs to go along with a .330 average and also leads the team with 31 runs driven in.
• The pitching staff has a 4.33 team ERA through 48 games and 384.1 innings pitched. The staff has 325 strikeouts and 146 walks during that span. Opponents are hitting .260 against UCM pitchers.
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Ricky Rivera leads the team with six wins (6-2) to go along with a 4.11 earned run average in 12 appearances and 10 starts.
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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.
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Tyler House is 4-2 with a 3.77 ERA in 11 starts. He leads the team with 57 strikeouts in 59.2 innings and has two of the Mules' three complete-games this season.
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Lucas Williams is 5-3 with a 3.35 earned run average in 17 total appearances. He's struck out 30 in 37.2 innings of work and has two saves.
• The UCM defense has committed 62 errors and has a .964 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned 26 double plays on the year.
Worth Noting• UCM has not won an MIAA Tournament First Round series since the league moved to the current format in 2013.
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Trevor Jones had his 21-game hitting streak snapped in game one of the Lindenwood series, but he has reached base in 33 straight games.
Last time out   April 26, 2015 - (ST. CHARLES, Mo.) -- Lindenwood got a two-out RBI single and scored an unearned run to grab a 4-3 walkoff win over the Mules in the regular season finale on Sunday at the Lou Brock Sports Complex. The Mules finished the regular season at 28-20 overall and 23-13 in MIAA play and will be the No. 3 seed in the MIAA Tournament.
   The Mules got on the board first with a
Colton Hilbrenner RBI single to go in front 1-0. That lead stood until the sixth when the Lions (26-23, 16-16 MIAA) scored twice to grab a 2-1 lead. Nathan Prindle tied the game with an RBI double and Ryan Light's sacrifice fly put Lindenwood in front.
   UCM tied the game in the seventh on
Jackson Schnurbusch's RBI single and grabbed a 3-2 lead in the eighth on
Tony Sandifer's RBI double. Lindenwood answered back in the bottom of the eighth scoring an unearned run to tie the game 3-3.
   In the bottom of the ninth, Braden Sugar singled, went to second on an error, third on a flyout to centerfield and scored on Wes Degener's two-out single to give the Lions the walkoff win.
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Grant Gavin (2-1) took the loss for UCM after giving up two unearned runs on four hits in 1.2 innings of relief. Starter
Ricky Rivera allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings of work. Matt Meier (1-0) got the win for LWU tossing 1.1 innings of no-hit relief.
Mules in the MIAA Tournament• The Mules are 1-4 in the MIAA Tournament since the league went to the current best-of-three first round format.
• UCM has captured 20 MIAA Tournament titles overall, including 16 of the last 21 years.
• The Mules' last MIAA Tournament crown was in the 2012 season.
Mules in MIAA play• The Mules finished the season 23-13 in MIAA play under first-year head coach
Kyle Crookes after dropping three out of four games at Lindenwood over the 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 5-7 in non-conference games this season after dropping a 12-inning game to Rockhurst on April 21.
• UCM was 3-8 in non-conference games last season.
The Mules at home• The Mules are 13-5 at home this season after dropping a non-conference game to Rockhurst on Tuesday night.
• UCM was 18-5 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field last year.
• The Mules are 753-149-1 (.835) in 903 games played in this, their 40th season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Mules on the road• The Mules went 12-13 on the road this season. They dropped their final three games of the season at Lindenwood.
• 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.
Crookes era underway• The Mules are 28-20 (.583) 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 1,787-706-9 (.716) record in 2,502 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 756-195 (.795) 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 winners of the four first round series will advance to the MIAA Tournament Finals at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas.
• The MIAA Tournament finals begin on Thursday, May 7 and it is a double-elimination tournament.
