First Pitch
• The third-ranked Central Missouri Mules open NCAA-II World Series play against fourth-ranked Lander on Sunday night, May 29 at 7 p.m. EDT.
• The 2016 season marks the 23rd straight year that UCM has won at least 30 games and the 18th time in program history that the Mules have won 40 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 and 17th Regional crown 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.
• Bob Jackson 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
• This will be the first ever meeting between Central Missouri and Lander.

Lander
• Fourth-ranked Lander enters the championships at 42-14 overall after capturing the Southeast Region crown with a 5-3 win over South Carolina-Aiken.
• The Bearcats are making their second NCAA-II World Series appearance in three years under head coach Kermit Smith. The seventh-year head man sports a 242-132 record leading LU.
• LU is hitting .299 as a team with 96 doubles, 12 triples, 90 home runs and 451 RBI.
• Colby Lusignan leads the team with a .402 batting average. He has 19 doubles, 13 home runs and 66 RBI.
• Taylor Kellner bats .352 with seven homers and 49 RBI.
• Thomas Berry is batting .325 with 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 60 runs batted in.
• Zach Daly leads the team with 21 home runs and 75 RBI, while batting .298.
• Five players are hitting .300 or better with five players having hit at least 12 home runs and nine having driven in at least 21 runs.
• The Lander pitching staff has a 3.98 ERA in 56 games and 497.0 innings pitched. The staff has walked 178 and struck out 454 over that span. Opponents are batting .268 against LU.
• Brandon White is 3-2 with a 0.99 ERA and 13 saves in 30 relief appearances. He's struck out 52 batters in 36.1 innings.
• Will Jones is 10-2 with a 3.33 earned run average in 17 appearances and 16 starts. He leads the staff with 102 strikeouts in 105.1 innings pitched and is limiting opponents to a .264 average.
•Robbie Hoyt is 1-0 with a 2.42 ERA in 23 relief appearances.
• The Bearcats have a .965 team fielding percentage. They've committed 75 errors and have turned 40 double plays on the year.

The Mules
• Central Missouri enters the World Series at 42-13 overall after the 7-4 win over Arkansas-Monticello in the Central Region Championship Game.
• The Mules are hitting .306 as a team with 93 doubles, 25 triples, 72 home runs and 361 RBI.
• Jake Alexander leads the team with a .395 batting average with 13 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 40 RBI. He has a .465 on-base percentage.
• Bennett Oliver is hitting .349 and leads the team in home runs with a UCM and MIAA single-season record 24 and a team-best 57 RBI.
• Derek Cornell is hitting .323 with 18 extra-base hits, including six home runs and has 41 RBI.
• Matt Elliott is batting .332 out of the leadoff spot. He has 13 doubles, eight triples and 10 home runs to go along with 37 runs batted in.
• Cole Distler is batting .331 with 21 extra-base hits and 33 RBI.
• Dylan Farrell is hitting .316 with 11 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs and is second on the team with 47 RBI.
• Ten Mules have double figure RBI on the season.
• The pitching staff has a 3.81 team ERA through 55 games and 486.2 innings pitched. The staff has 460 strikeouts and 178 walks during that span.
• Ethan Westphal is 10-2 with a staff-leading 2.80 ERA in 14 appearances and 13 starts. He leads the team with 99 strikeouts in 93.1 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .213 batting average.
• Carlos D'Armas is 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 15 starts. He is second on the team with 89 strikeouts in 83.0 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .236 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 13 saves to go along with a 4-3 record and a 2.73 ERA in 25 relief appearances. He has struck out 34 batters in 29.2 innings pitched.
• Lucas Williams is 4-1 with a 3.46 earned run average and four saves in 23 appearances. He has 36 K's in 41.2 innings pitched.
• Andy Muehlberger is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA and two saves in 16 relief appearances. He has 12 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched.
• The UCM defense has a .970 fielding percentage and has committed 63 errors on the season. The Mules have turned 37 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 were seventh in the MIAA in batting with a .306 team average, they were first in pitching (3.81 ERA) and third in fielding (.970 fld%).

Mules in the NCAA Tournament
• The Mules are making their 28th NCAA Regional appearance overall this season, but the first since 2013 and the first under Kyle Crookes.
• UCM is 98-55 all-time in NCAA Tournament play after the win over Arkansas-Monticello.
• The Mules are making their 17th appearance in the NCAA-II World Series. UCM is 28-29 all-time in World Series play and the Mules have won two national championships (1994, 2003).

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.
• Gavin, Westphal and senior first baseman Bennett Oliver were all three named Second Team Rawlings/ABCA All-Region.

Saving his way in to the record books
• With his save in the regional title game against Arkansas-Monticello, Grant Gavin moved in to second place on the UCM single-season saves list with 13 and in to fourth place on the career saves list with 16.
• He is one save shy of the single-season record of 14 set by Chris Matlock in 2009 and three shy of second place on the career list.
• His 13 saves this season lead the MIAA and are second in NCAA Division II.

Blasting up the charts
• Senior Bennett Oliver set a new MIAA single-season HR record with is 24th homer of the season against Minnesota State. His 24 home runs are tops in the MIAA and 10th in NCAA-II.
• Oliver's 30 career home runs tie him for third 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 nine-strikeout performance against Emporia State last Friday night, Ethan Westphal has registered 99 punchouts in 93.1 inning pitched this season. That number ranks him in a tie for fifth all-time in a single-season in UCM history.
• He is four strikeouts shy of fourth place on the list (Steve Sharpe - 103, 2004).
• 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 23, 2016 - (ST. CLOUD, Minn.) -- The ninth-ranked Mules captured the 2016 Central Region championship with a 7-4 win over Arkansas-Monticello on Monday afternoon at Joe Faber Field. It is the 17th regional crown in program history and the Mules advance to next week's NCAA-II World Series in Cary, North Carolina for the first time since 2011.
    UCM (42-13) jumped on top right out of the gates when Matt Elliott blasted a leadoff home run to straightaway center field to put the Mules in front 1-0. The Boll Weevils (40-16) answered right back in the bottom of the first to tie the game 1-1, but it could have been much worse for UCM. Arkansas-Monticello loaded the bases with no outs against Reece Ponak and Travis Steinke drew a walk to force in a run. Lucas Williams came out of the bullpen and got a pair of strikeouts and a line out to end the inning and keep the game tied.
    The Mules went back in front in the top of the second when Matt Safranek brought home Derek Cornell with a sacrifice bunt to make it 2-1. The lead grew to 3-1 in the third when Jake Alexander singled home Elliott following a leadoff double.
    The Boll Weevils tied the game in the bottom of the third getting a leadoff home run from Corey Wood and a bases loaded single from Guy Halbert. UAM took the lead in the fourth on Mitchell Dornblut's RBI single to lead 4-3. It was the first deficit of the tournament for the Mules.
    The Mules regained the lead for good with three runs in the fifth. Elliott led off with a double, stole third and scored on Dylan Farrell's single up the middle to knot the game at 4-4. Later in the inning Derek Cornell singled home Farrell and UCM led 5-4. The Mules then executed a perfect double steal with Cornell taking second and Jake Alexander coming home to score to make it 6-4.
    Alexander's RBI groundout in the sixth brought home Blake Wilfong and the Mules led 7-4.
    The UCM pitching staff would make the lead stand up. Williams (4-1) tossed four innings of relief, allowing three runs on eight hits to earn the win. Tayler Ross came on in the fifth and tossed 3.2 innings of one-hit ball. Andy Muehlberger relieved Ross in the eighth and after allowing an infield single to bring the tying run to the plate, he struck out tournament MVP Corey Wood to keep UCM in front. Grant Gavin came on in the ninth to secure the win for UCM, he allowed a two-out double, but got Nick Cerda to groundout to Jackson Schnurbusch at shortstop to end the game and send the Mules in to a dogpile down the first base line.
    The save was Gavin's 13th of the season, putting him alone in second place on UCM's single-season list. His 16 career saves are the fourth most all-time.
    Elliott finished the game 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and three runs scored. Alexander was 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
    Gavin, Elliott, Cole Distler and Bennett Oliver were all named to the Central Regional All-Tournament Team.

Mules in MIAA play
• The Mules finished 32-7 in MIAA play this season after sweeping Washburn to close out the regular season.
• 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 10-6 in non-conference action this season after beating Arkansas-Monticello for the Central Region crown on Monday.
• The Mules were 7-9 in non-conference games last season and are 16-15 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 9-5 in neutral site games after the Central Regional title game win over Arkansas-Monticello.
• UCM is 11-9 in neutral site games under Crookes.

Mules in the rankings
• The Mules moved up six spots this week to No. 3 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 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 72-35 (.673) 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 1,831-721-9 (.717) record in 2,561 games played.
• The Mules have won 40 or more games 18 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)
• 17 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 800-210 (.792) since the year 2000. An average of 47 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 Lander they will face the winner of Nova Southeastern and Franklin Pierce on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
• A loss to Lander would send the Mules to an elimination game against either NSU or FPU on Tuesday at 3 p.m.