First Pitch• The Central Missouri Mules head back out on the road for a three-game MIAA series at Central Oklahoma beginning on Friday, March 11.
• The Mules and Bronchos will open the three-game series on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Broncho Field in Edmond with Saturday's game slated for another 1 p.m. start and Sunday's game starting at noon.
• This season, each MIAA series will consist of three nine-inning games.
• 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 lead the all-time series with Central Oklahoma 23-15, including a 3-2 mark under
Kyle Crookes.
• UCO won the first meeting this season, 5-1, on Feb. 13 in Magnolia, Arkansas. It was played a non-conference game and doesn't count toward UCM's MIAA record.
• The Mules won three of four games last year in Warrensburg.
Central Oklahoma• Central Oklahoma enters the series at 9-5 overall and 4-2 in MIAA play after dropping two of three games at Fort Hays State last weekend.
• The Bronchos are 5-0 at home this season.
• UCO plays at Northwestern Oklahoma State on Wednesday night before hosting the Mules this weekend.
• Central Oklahoma was picked to finish eighth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll after going 19-26 overall last season and 14-21 (11th) in conference play.
• UCO is led by first-year head coach John Martin.
• Central Oklahoma is hitting .283 as a team with 23 doubles, nine triples, 20 home runs and 107 RBI through 14 games.
• Jon Kamies is hitting .382 with eight home runs and 18 RBI, all are team highs.
• Landon Eason is hitting .361 with 10 extra-base hits and is tied for the team-lead with 18 runs batted in.
• Five Bronchos are hitting .313 or better and six players have at least 10 RBI.
• The UCO pitching staff has an 5.90 ERA in 14 games and 119 innings pitched. The staff has walked 67 and struck out 95 during that span. Opponents are hitting .293 against UCO.
• Greg Hyde is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in three starts. He has only allowed thre earned runs in 18.0 innings pitched. He beat UCM in the earlier meeting this season, allowing just one hit in 6.0 innings.
• Brock Stuber is 1-2 with a 4.50 earned run average in four starts. He has one complete game.
• Daulton Leiker is 1-0 with a 6.10 ERA in four starts. He leads the team with 27 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched.
• Ryan McCourt has a 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen.
• Shawn Troutman leads the team with two saves in five relief appearances. He sports a 6.14 ERA in 7.1 innings.
• The Bronchos have a .929 team fielding percentage. They've committed 39 errors and have turned six double plays on the year.
The Mules• Central Missouri enters the weekend at 6-6 overall and 5-1 in MIAA play after sweeping Pittsburg State last weekend.
• The Mules have won five straight games.
• The Mules are hitting .253 as a team with 18 doubles, three triples, 15 home runs and 71 RBI.
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Jake Alexander is hitting .381 with four doubles, a triple, home run and 11 RBI. He has a nine-game hitting streak and has reached base in all 12 games this season.
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Matt Elliott is hitting .341 with a pair of doubles, a triple, three home runs and 11 runs driven in.
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Bennett Oliver is hitting .273 and leads the team with five home runs and is tied for teh team-lead with 11 RBI.
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Dylan Farrell is hitting .303 with two doubles, two home runs and seven driven in.
• Four Mules are batting .308 or better.
• The pitching staff has a 3.69 team ERA through 12 games and 102.1 innings pitched. The staff has 110 strikeouts and 42 walks during that span.
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Ethan Westphal is 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA in four appearances and three starts. He leads the team with 28 strikeouts in 25.1 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .180 batting average.
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Tyler House is 2-0 with a 2.49 earned run average in four starts. He has 20 strikeouts in 21.2 innings pitched and opponents are hitting just .192 against him.
• The UCM defense has a .970 fielding percentage and has committed 13 errors on the season. The Mules have turned 10 double plays on the year.
Worth Noting• During his nine-game hitting streak,
Jake Alexander is batting .387 with five extra-base hits, 10 RBI and six runs scored. He has a .444 on-base percentage in that span.
• The Mules hit .348 with runners in scoring position during the Pittsburg State series and hit .625 with runners on third and less than two outs.
Season and single-game tickets available online• All-season passes and single-game tickets for Mules Baseball are available at the UCM Athletic Ticket Office in room 101 of the Multipurpose Building or online at UCMathletics.com/tickets.
• Season passes for all 19 remaining regular season home games are $20 for adults and $10 for youth.
• Single-game tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for youth. UCM students get in free with their student ID's.
Last time outMarch 6, 2016 - (WARRENSBURG, Mo.) -- The Mules completed a three-game sweep of Pittsburg State with a 12-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field. The Mules have now won five straight games and are 6-6 overall and 5-1 in MIAA play.
   The Mules continued their hot hitting from Saturday by jumping on the Gorillas early.
Matt Elliott led off with a walk, stole second, went to third on a single and scored on
Bennett Oliver's sac bunt to give UCM a 1-0 lead.
   Central Missouri blew the game open with a five-run two-out rally in the second that made it 6-0 in favor of the Mules. Elliott had an RBI single up the middle,
Dylan Farrell had an RBI infield single to make it 3-0.
Jake Alexander added a two-run triple to center and he later scored on a wild pitch. All five runs in the inning were unearned.
   Pittsburg State (5-9, 0-6 MIAA) got on the board in the third on Brett Macary's RBI double to make it 6-1. UCM got the run right back in the bottom of the frame on
Blake Wilfong's RBI double.
   The Mules tacked on four more runs in the fourth for an 11-1 lead.
Jackson Schnurbusch dealt the big blow with a three-run home run to left field. It was the first home run of his career. Alexander added an RBI single later in the frame as well.
   The UCM run came in the sixth on Farrell's solo home run to left. It was his second home run in as many days.
   The 12 runs were more than enough for
Carlos D'Armas (1-1). He picked up his first win of the season, going six strong innings allowing just one run on four hits while striking out four.
Luke Mercer saw his first collegiate action, recording the final three outs for the Mules in the seventh.
   Cort Lesmeister (0-3) took the loss for PSU after allowing six runs, only one earned, on four hits in 1.2 innings.
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 MIAA play• The Mules are 5-1 in MIAA play this season after sweeping Pittsburg State in the first home series of 2016.
• The Mules finished 23-13 in MIAA play last season and finished in third place in the conference's regular season standings.
Mules in non-conference action• The Mules are 1-5 in non-conference action this season after going 1-2 at the Southern Arkansas Invitational.
• The Mules were 7-9 in non-conference games last season.
The Mules at home• The Mules are 3-0 at home after sweeping Pittsburg State last weekend.
• Central Missouri was 15-5 at home during the 2015 season.
• The Mules are 758-149-1 (.835) in 908 games played in this, their 41st season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Mules on the road• The Mules are 2-2 on the road this season after taking two out of three games at Fort Hays State two weeks ago.
• The Mules were 12-13 on the road last season.
Mules in neutral site games• The Mules are 1-4 in neutral site games after going 1-1 against Oklahoma Christian and Central Oklahoma at the Southern Arkansas Invitational in Magnolia, Arkansas.
• UCM was 3-4 in neutral site games last season.
Westphal named MIAA Pitcher of the Week for second straight week• Junior RHP
Ethan Westphal earned his second straight MIAA Pitcher of the Week honor for his performance in UCM's 8-0 win over Pittsburg State last Saturday.
• The Winterset, Iowa native tossed seven shutout innings in the game, allowing just two singles while striking out four.
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. The mid-week series will consist of a single game midweek in three different weeks. One of the series will be two home games and one road game, while the other will be two road and one home.
UCM during the Crookes era•
Kyle Crookes has a 36-28 (.563) 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, who 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 1,795-714-9 (.715) record in 2,518 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 764-203 (.790) since the year 2000. An average of 45 wins per season over the last 17 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 return home on Wednesday, March 16 to host Drury for a single non-conference game. First pitch at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field is set for 4 p.m.
• UCM hosts Nebraska-Kearney in a three-game set beginning on Friday, March 18 at 2 p.m.
