First Pitch• The Central Missouri Mules head south to Magnolia, Arkansas for three in-region games this weekend against Oklahoma Christian, Southern Arkansas and Central Oklahoma.
• The Mules will take on OC at noon on Friday followed by a 3 p.m. game against 14th-ranked SAU. UCM wraps up the trip with a single game against UCO on Saturday at noon. All three games will be played at SAU's Walker Stadium in Magnolia.
• UCM is receiving votes in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll.
• Central Missouri was picked to finish third in the MIAA's Preseason Coaches' poll.
• The Mules were 30-22 a season ago and finished in third place in the MIAA with a 23-13 conference mark. It was the 22nd consecutive season with at least 30 wins for UCM.
The Series• The Mules and Oklahoma Christian have only met one other time in history. OC won that game 4-2 back on Feb. 24, 1996 in Edmond, Oklahoma.
• Southern Arkansas holds an 8-6 lead in the series, with the teams splitting a doubleheader last year in Magnolia.
• The Mules lead the all-time series with UCO 23-14, including a 3-1 mark under
Kyle Crookes. The Mules took three of four games from the Bronchos last year in Warrensburg.
Oklahoma Christian
• Oklahoma Christian enters the contest at 3-1 overall after falling to SE Oklahoma State 14-13 on Tuesday night.
• The Eagles swept Texas A&M-Kingsville in a three-game series to open the season last weekend.
• OC was picked to finish fourth in the Heartland Conference preseason poll and they are ranked eighth in the NCBWA South Central Region poll.
• Fourth-year head coach Lonny Cobble has compiled a 99-66-1 leading OC.
• The Eagles are hitting .295 as a team with 15 doubles and five home runs through four games.
• Jake Baxter is hitting .611 (11-for-18) with four doubles, a home run, and four RBI.
• Kyle Lacy is hitting .500 with a double, triple, home run and team-best five runs driven in.
• Five players are hitting .375 or better, with four hitting .455 or higher.
• The pitching staff has a 5.45 ERA in four games and 36.1 innings pitched. The staff has walked 20 and struck out 45 during that span.
• Jake Collins is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two relief appearances. He has six K's in 4.2 innings pitched.
• Kyle Lacy is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA. He struck out nine over seven innings in his first start.
• The Eagles have a .975 team fielding percentage. They've committed four errors and have turned four double plays on the year.
Southern Arkansas• Southern Arkansas enters the game at 3-2 overall and ranked No. 14 in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll. SAU beat LSU-Shreveport 10-1 on Tuesday night.
• The Muleriders are 1-1 against the MIAA this season after splitting a pair of games with Washburn last weekend in Grand Prairie, Texas.
• They are the preseason favorite to win the Great American Conference championship as selected by the league's coaches.
• Sixth-year head coach Steve Browning has compiled a 197-89 record leading SAU.
• The Muleriders are hitting .257 as a team with 11 doubles, two triples and one home run.
• Jake Tisevich leads the team in hitting with a .444 average. Zach Silvers is batting .368 and is tied for the team lead with three others with four RBI.
• Four players are hitting .333 or better.
• The pitching staff has a 2.80 ERA through five games and 45 innings pitched. The staff has walked 20 and struck out 39 during that span.
• Kenneth Tabor is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one start. He tossed six innings of three-hit ball in the win over East Central. He walked three and struck out eight.
• Eric Shildt is 1-0 with a 2.35 earned run average over two starts. Opponents are hitting just .077 against him through 7.2 innings.
• The Muleriders have a .971 team fielding percentage. They've committed six errors and have turned four double plays on the year.
Central Oklahoma• Central Oklahoma enters the contest at 1-0 after beating SW Oklahoma State 9-7 in the season-opener on Tuesday.
• UCO was picked to finish eighth in the MIAA preseason coaches poll.
• The Bronchos are led by first-year head coach John Martin.
• Jacob Borrego and Landon Eason both had two hits against SWOSU and Borrego drove in four runs.
• T.J. Sparr went 1-for-4 in the game with a double and a pair of RBI.
• Jaycee Parker earned the win in relief going 1.1 innings allowing two hits and striking out two.
• Starter Daulton Leiker allowed five runs, none of them earned, on four hits over 4.2 innings. He walked two and struck out six.
• The Bronchos committed five errors in the game against SW Oklahoma State.
The Mules• Central Missouri enters the weekend at 0-3 overall after their season-opening trip to Houston, Texas for the Fourth Annual Houston Winter Invitational.
• The Mules are hitting .213 as a team with a pair of doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 RBI.
•
Blake Wilfong is batting .429 with a home run and two RBI.
Jake Alexander is hitting .364 with a double and an RBI.
•
Brad Jelinek leads the team with 3 RBI, while four players are hitting .333 or better.
• The pitching staff has a 2.67 team ERA through the first three games and 27 innings pitched. The staff has 40 strikeouts and 20 walks during that span.
•
Tyler House is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in his one start. He allowed just one hit over six innings while striking out nine against Arkansas-Monticello. UAM hit .056 against him.
•
Carlos D'Armas has a 0.00 ERA over 4.2 innings. He struck out 10 and walked just one against No. 6 St. Cloud State.
• The UCM defense has committed four errors and has a .963 fielding percentage. The Mules have turned four double plays on the year.
Worth Noting• The last time the Mules started 0-3 was the 2008 season. That team went on to finish 47-17, including a regional title and a fourth place finish at the NCAA-II World Series.
• The Mules hit two home runs in the season-opener against Henderson State. They didn't hit their second home run last year until the ninth game of the season.
Last time outFeb. 7, 2016 - (HOUSTON, Texas) -- For the third straight game Mules Baseball dropped a tight one-run game, this time falling 2-1 to sixth-ranked St. Cloud State on Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park. The loss drops UCM to 0-3 on the season by a combined three runs.
   Much like Saturday's game, Sunday's affair was dominated by the pitchers. Mules' starter
Carlos D'Armas went 4.2 solid innings scattering four hits while striking out 10. He exited in the top of the fifth with the game scoreless.
Ross Juliana came on in relief and after a walk, he struck out Karl Sorensen to keep the game 0-0.
   The Huskies (3-0) broke through in the sixth, scoring an unearned run off of Juliana to grab the lead. Zach Hoffmann singled to lead off the inning and came all the way around to score when the other Zak Hoffman's fly ball to left was dropped. The Huskies then put two on with no outs, but
Reece Ponak came on and got an unconventional 6-4-5-4 double play and a strikeout to keep it at 1-0.
   SCSU added another unearned run in the seventh to make it 2-0. The Huskies had runners at first and second with no outs. Following a strikeout, Sorensen singled to center, but the ball got away from
Matt Elliott allowing Cody Rutledge to score. Ponak responded with a groundout and strikeout to keep UCM in striking distance.
   The Mules finally broke through against Husky starter Sheldon Miks in the eighth inning. Elliott was hit by a pitch leading off the inning. He stole second, stole third and scored on
Brad Jelinek's groundout.
   UCM put one runner on in the ninth with a two-out walk from
Jake Alexander, but the game ended with an SCSU 2-1 win.
   D'Armas didn't factor in the decision after a double-digit strikeout performance. Juliana (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing one unearned run in a third of an inning. Ponak pitched four solid innings of relief, allowing one unearned run on three hits while striking out five. UCM pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts and just three walks in the game.
   Husky starter Miks (1-0) tossed a complete game scattering three hits and one run while striking out 12.
Mules picked to finish third in MIAA Preseason Poll• Central Missouri was picked to finish third 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 141 points to come in third. Missouri Southern received 11 first place votes and totaled 166 points to claim the top spot. Emporia State got the other first place vote and 152 points to come in second. Lindenwood (122 points) and Missouri Western (120 points) rounded out the top five.
• UCM is scheduled to open MIAA play Feb. 26-28 at Fort Hays State for a three-game series.
Mules in the Polls• Central Missouri was receiving votes in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll. The first regular season poll will be released next week.
Mules in season-openers• The Mules are 30-22 in season-openers since 1965 following the 6-5 loss to Henderson State last weekend.
• UCM has dropped four straight season-openers at the Houston Winter Invitational.
Mules in non-conference action• The Mules are 0-3 in non-conference action after the season-opening Houston Winter Invitational last weekend.
• The Mules were 7-9 in non-conference games last season.
Mules in MIAA play• The Mules finished 23-13 in MIAA play last season and finished in third place in the conference's regular season standings.
Mules on the road• The game against Southern Arkansas on Friday afternoon will mark the first true road game of the season for UCM.
• The Mules were 12-13 on the road last season.
Mules in road-openers• The Mules are 0-1 in road openers under
Kyle Crookes, falling to Southern Arkansas 7-1 last season. UCM rebounded to win the second game of that doubleheader 1-0.
• UCM is 5-5 in the last 10 road-openers.
Mules in neutral site games• The games this weekend against Oklahoma Christian and Central Oklahoma will be neutral site games. The Mules are 0-3 in neutral site games this season.
• UCM was 3-4 in neutral site games last season.
MIAA schedule change for 2016• This season every MIAA team will play the other 13 league schools in a three-game series. All three games of the series will be nine-inning games.
• UCM will play 11 weekend series and two mid-week conference series.
UCM during the Crookes era•
Kyle Crookes has a 30-24 (.556) record in his second season as head coach at Central Missouri.
• The Mules went 30-22 during Crookes' first season as head coach. Ten Mules earned All-MIAA honors, including First Team honors for outfielder
Trevor Jones. Jones went on to earn Second Team All-Region honors as well.
• The Mules were 71-29 in Crookes' 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• The 2016 season marks the 61st in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 1,789-711-9 (.715) record in 2,509 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, captured 16 regional titles and two national championships.
Mules Baseball by the Numbers• 27 NCAA Regional Appearances (20 of the last 22 years)
• 24 MIAA Titles (16 of the last 22)
• 20 MIAA Tournament Titles (16 of the last 22)
• 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 758-200 (.791) since the year 2000. An average of 47 wins per season over the last 16 years.
A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics• Entering the 2015-16 academic year, Central Missouri had won a combined 205 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured five MIAA regular season titles, and three MIAA Tournament crowns.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 151 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won eight 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 and outdoor track & field in 2015) and 10 national championships overall.
A Tradition of Excellence in the Classroom• Central Missouri had 218 student-athletes named to the 2014-15 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 29 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 six student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with three of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
• Since the year 2000, UCM is tied for sixth in NCAA-II with 49 Academic All-Americans.
Upcoming• The Mules are off next weekend before opening MIAA play Feb. 26-28 at Fort Hays State.
• The home-opener is set for Friday, March 4 at 2 p.m. when the Mules open a three-game MIAA series against Pittsburg State.
