Ninth-ranked Mules to face familiar foe in Emporia State in NCAA Regional

First Pitch
• The ninth-ranked Central Missouri Mules face Emporia State in a winner's bracket game at the NCAA-II Central Regional on Friday night, May 20. First pitch is set for 8:30 p.m. at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
• The 2016 season marks the 23rd straight year that UCM has won at least 30 games.
• The Mules won their 25th MIAA Regular Season Championship this year after being picked to finish third in the MIAA's Preseason Coaches' poll.
• UCM also captured the 21st MIAA Tournament title in program history.

Mules Baseball on the air
• All of UCM's postseason games can be heard live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com.
• Greg Hassler and Ricky Rivera will be on the call with the Lotspeich Automotive Dugout Show beginning 25 minutes prior to first pitch.
• There will be a free webcast of the game as well. Links are located on the Mules Baseball schedule page on UCMathletics.com.

The Series
• The Mules lead the all-time series with Emporia State 105-48, but trail 3-2 in games played under Kyle Crookes.
• UCM took two of three from the Hornets in early April in Warrensburg. ESU won the opener 11-4 before the Mules took the final two games of the series 3-2 and 7-5.
• The Mules are 7-1 against the Hornets in the NCAA Tournament with the last meeting, an 8-1 UCM win, coming in 2011 in San Antonio, Texas.

Emporia State
• Emporia State enters the game at 38-17 overall after a 4-0 win over second-seeded Minnesota-Duluth in Thursday's regional opener.
• The Hornets are led by 13th-year head coach Bob Fornelli. He sports a 530-215 record leading the ESU program and an overall mark of 828-338 in 20 years as a head coach.
• ESU is hitting .331 as a team with 130 doubles, 21 triples, 69 home runs and 442 RBI.
• Dalton Wheat leads the Hornets in hitting with a .396 average. He has 21 doubles and 31 extra-base hits and 60 RBI.
• Jonny Hodges is hitting .381 with 10 extra-base knocks and 22 RBI.
• Evan Koehler is hitting .335 with 22 home runs and 73 runs drive in.
• Ten players are hitting .310 or better and 13 players have at least 14 RBI.
• The Emporia State pitching staff has a 4.32 ERA in 55 games and 465.0 innings pitched. The staff has walked 171 and struck out 434 over that span. Opponents are batting .278 against ESU.
• Garrett Brummett is 6-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 21 total appearances and four starts. He's struck out 78 in 54.1 innings pitched. He leads the team with five saves, but his last three appearances have been starts.
• Shane Davies is 0-1 with a 3.09 earned run average in 19 relief appearances. He has two saves
• Tevin Renken is 1-0 with a 3.66 ERA in 15 relief appearances.
• The Hornets have a .973 team fielding percentage. They've committed 53 errors and have turned 34 double plays on the year.

The Mules
• Central Missouri enter the matchup at 39-13 overall after a 3-1 win over SW Oklahoma State in the regional opener on Thursday.
• The Mules are hitting .307 as a team with 88 doubles, 25 triples, 68 home runs and 346 RBI.
• Jake Alexander leads the team with a .406 batting average with 13 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 37 RBI. He has a .477 on-base percentage.
• Bennett Oliver is hitting .348 and leads the team in home runs with a UCM single-season record 22 and a team-best 54 RBI.
• Derek Cornell is hitting .333 with 18 extra-base hits, including six home runs and has 39 RBI.
• Matt Elliott is batting .325 out of the leadoff spot. He has 11 doubles, eight triples and nine home runs to go along with 36 runs batted in.
• Dylan Farrell is hitting .323 with 11 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs and is second on the team with 45 RBI.
• Cole Distler is batting .309 with 19 extra-base hits and 31 RBI.
• Ten Mules have double figure RBI on the season.
• The pitching staff has a 3.90 team ERA through 52 games and 459.2 innings pitched. The staff has 431 strikeouts and 172 walks during that span.
• Ethan Westphal is 9-2 with a staff-leading 2.72 ERA in 13 appearances and 12 starts. He leads the team with 90 strikeouts in 86.0 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .207 batting average.
• Carlos D'Armas is 4-2 with a 3.87 ERA in 14 starts. He is second on the team with 85 strikeouts in 76.2 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .243 against him.
• Tyler House is 7-2 with a 4.33 ERA in 15 starts. He's struck out 69 batters in 81 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .249 batting average.
• Grant Gavin leads the team with 10 saves to go along with a 4-3 record and a 3.04 ERA in 22 relief appearances. He has struck out 30 batters in 26.2 innings pitched.
• Lucas Williams is 3-1 with a 3.16 earned run average and four saves in 21 appearances. He has 31 K's in 37.0 innings pitched.
• Andy Muehlberger is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA and two saves in 15 relief appearances. He has 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched.
• The UCM defense has a .969 fielding percentage and has committed 62 errors on the season. The Mules have turned 35 double plays on the year.

Worth Noting
• During MIAA play this year, the Mules hit .313 with runners in scoring position and .619 with runners on third and less than two outs.
• The Mules currently rank seventh in the MIAA in batting with a .307 team average, they are first in pitching (3.90 ERA) and third in fielding (.969 fld%).

Mules in the NCAA Tournament
• The Mules are making their 28th NCAA Regional appearance overall, but the first since 2013 and the first under Kyle Crookes.
• UCM is 95-55 all-time in NCAA Tournament play after the win over SW Oklahoma State.
• The Mules have captured 16 regional championships.

All-MIAA Mules
• After winning the MIAA Regular Season Championship, the Mules had 10 players named to the All-MIAA Team, including two first-teamers.
• Starting pitcher Ethan Westphal and reliever Grant Gavin were both named to the First Team and head coach Kyle Crookes was named MIAA Coach of the Year.
• Second Team honors went to pitcher Carlos D'Armas, first baseman Bennett Oliver and designated hitter Jake Alexander.
• Honorable Mention accolades were awarded to pitchers Tyler House and Lucas Williams and outfielders Derek Cornell, Matt Elliott and Dylan Farrell.

All-Region Mules
• Junior relief pitcher Grant Gavin and junior starter Ethan Wespthal both earned multiple All-Region honors this week.
• Gavin was a First Team All-Region selection by D2CCA and NCBWA, while Westphal earned First Team honors from the D2CCA and a Second Team nod from the NCBWA.

Saving his way in to the record books
• With his two saves in the regular season-ending Washburn series, Grant Gavin moved in to a tie for fifth place on the UCM single-season saves list with 10 and in to a tie for seventh place on the career saves list with 13.
• He is one save shy of third place on the single-season chart and one shy of sixth place on the career list.
• His 10 saves this season lead the MIAA and are 12th in NCAA Division II.

Blasting up the charts
• Senior Bennett Oliver owns the new UCM single-season home run record with 22. He broke the old record of 20, set by Ben Slemmer in 1998. His 22 home runs are tied for the most in the MIAA this year and are tied for third in NCAA-II.
• The MIAA record for home runs in a season is 23, set by Emporia State's Eric Shortell in 2008 and tied by Dean Long of ESU last year.
• Oliver's 28 career home runs tie him for fifth all-time at Central Missouri. The career record for home runs is 44, set by Nathan Lipowicz (1997-00).

Striking out the opposition
• After his eight-strikeout performance against Missouri Western last Friday night, Ethan Westphal has registered 90 punchouts in 86.0 inning pitched this season. That number ranks him seven all-time in a single-season in UCM history.
• He is four strikeouts shy of sixth place on the list (Seth Gilleland, 2007).
• The UCM single-season strikeout record is 129, set by Danny Powers in 2005.

Three bagger
• Junior centerfielder Matt Elliott has eight triples on the season, the fifth most in a single-season in UCM history.
• He is one triple shy of third place on the single-season list and three shy of second place.

Last time out
May 19, 2016 - (ST. CLOUD, Minn.) -- Tyler House tossed seven shutout innings and the ninth-ranked Mules squeezed out three runs to beat SW Oklahoma State 3-1 in the NCAA-II Central Regional opener on Thursday morning at Joe Faber Field.
    House (7-2) got off to a great start, registering three strikeouts with a two-out single in the top of the first. The Mules (39-13) jumped on the Bulldogs in the first. After Matt Elliott drew a leadoff walk, Dylan Farrell reached on an error by the third baseman while trying to bunt. Bennett Oliver's single loaded the bases with one out and Derek Cornell hit a ball to second, but the throw to second sailed high and in to left field allowing two runs to score. UCM had runners at second and third with only one out, but Jon Chidester (8-6) recorded a pair of strikeouts to prevent any further damage.
    SWOSU (33-16) put a pair of runners on with two outs in the second, but House recorded another strikeout to halt the threat. The punchout in the second started a string of 16 straight Bulldogs set down by House. By the time the leadoff batter singled in the eighth the Mules were in front 3-0, scoring another run in the fifth. Blake Wilfong walked, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout to first by Elliott. Wilfong kept running from second and took advantage of a close play at first to catch SWOSU off guard and score the third run for UCM.
    The Bulldogs got a leadoff single in the eighth to snap House's consecutive batters set down streak and send the Mules to the bullpen. Lucas Williams came out of the pen to record a flyout and an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
    SW Oklahoma State got on the board in the ninth with a two-out run-scoring single by Jacob Spring to make it 3-1. SWOSU brough the potential tying run to the plate, but Zach Barton popped up on the infield and the Mules registered the win to advance to the winner's bracket.
    UCM was held to just two hits in the game, but took advantage of three SWOSU errors in the win. House picked up the win and Williams recorded his fourth save of the season. House struck out six and didn't walk a batter. Chidester took the loss for SWOSU tossing eight solid innings, allowing three runs with only one earned on two hits. 

Mules in MIAA play
• The Mules finished 32-7 in MIAA play this season after sweeping Washburn last weekend.
• The Mules won their fifth MIAA Regular Season Championship in the last seven years and the 25th overall in program history this season.

Mules in non-conference action
• The Mules are 7-6 in non-conference action this season after beating SW Oklahoma State on Thursday morning.
• The Mules were 7-9 in non-conference games last season and are 14-15 overall in non-con action under Kyle Crookes.

The Mules at home
• The Mules are 19-3 at home after after sweeping Missouri Western last weekend.
• Central Missouri was 15-5 at home during the 2015 season.
• The Mules are 774-152-1 (.835) in 927 games played in their 41st season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.

Mules on the road
• The Mules are 14-5 on the road this season after sweeping a three-game series Washburn last weekend in Topeka.
• The Mules are 26-18 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes.

Mules in neutral site games
• The Mules are 6-5 in neutral site games after the win over SW Oklahoma State on Thursday morning.
• UCM is 9-9 in neutral site games under Crookes.

Mules in the rankings
• The Mules moved up three spots this week to No. 9 in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 30 poll.
• The Mules jumped up 11 spots in the NCBWA Poll from No. 23 to No. 12 in the final poll last week and jumped up four spots to No. 15 in the Perfect Game Baseball poll.

Mules vs. ranked opponents
• The Mules are 8-4 this season when facing a ranked opponent after sweeping a three-game set from No. 30 Washburn to close out the regular season in Topeka.

UCM during the Crookes era
• Kyle Crookes has a 69-35 (.663) record in his second season as head coach at Central Missouri.
• This season is his first conference championship as head coach at UCM and the second title overall during his time in Warrensburg.
• 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 1,828-721-9 (.716) record in 2,558 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 25 MIAA championships, captured 16 regional titles and two national championships.

Mules Baseball by the Numbers
• 28 NCAA Regional Appearances (21 of the last 23 years)
• 25 MIAA Titles (17 of the last 23, including this year)
• 21 MIAA Tournament Titles (17 of the last 23)
• 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 797-210 (.791) since the year 2000. An average of 46 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
• If the Mules beat Emporia State on Friday night, they would advance to the winner's brackt final on Saturday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Minnesota State and Arkansas-Monticello.
• A loss to ESU would send UCM to an elimination game on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the winner of St. Cloud State and Missouri Western.