First Pitch
• The third-ranked Central Missouri Mules open the 2017 season, their 62nd season of competition, with a three-game series against North Alabama at the USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn.
• The series gets underway on Friday at 3 p.m. with Saturday's contest set for 1 p.m. and Sunday's series finale set for a noon start.
• Central Missouri was picked to finish first in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. UCM is also ranked No. 1 in the NCBWA Preseason Central Region Poll.
2016 Recap
• The Mules captured the MIAA Regular Season and Tournament titles last year before claiming the Central Region crown en route to the NCAA-II World Series.
• The Mules finished tied for fifth at the championships and were ranked No. 4 in the final American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Poll.
• Last season marked the 23rd straight year that UCM has won at least 30 games and the 18th time in program history that the Mules won 40 games.
• The Mules won their 25th MIAA Regular Season Championship last year after being picked to finish third in the preseason coaches' poll.
• UCM also captured the 21st MIAA Tournament title and 17th Regional crown in program history.
Quick Hits
• Central Missouri's 43 wins in 2016 were its most since 2012, when it totaled 48.
• UCM won its final eight games of the regular season to close out the MIAA crown.
• The shutout loss to Cal Poly Pomona in last year's World Series snapped a streak of 106 straight games without being shutout.
The Series
• This will be the first ever meeting between Central Missouri and North Alabama, and possibly the only meetings, as UNA moves up to Division I next year.
North Alabama
• North Alabama enters the season picked to finish eighth in the Gulf South Conference preseason poll. The Lions were 25-22 a season ago and finished eighth in the GSC with a 15-17 conference mark.
• The Lions return four starters and 13 lettermen from last year's squad.
• Head coach Mike Keehn enters his ninth season leading the UNA program. He has a 243-162-1 record during his tenure in Florence.
• The Lions return 3/4 of their starting infield with first baseman Kyle Hubbuch, shortstop Peyton Sockwell and third baseman Davis Elliott all returning. They also return centerfielder Conner Kiser.
• Hubbuch hit .322 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs last season, while starting 46 of 47 games played.
• Sockwell hit .309 with 24 runs scored, while Elliott and Kiser combined to drive in 30 runs and score 34.
• UNA must replace starting pitcher Riley Sanderson, who went 6-4 with a 3.35 earned run average and 93 strikeouts in 88.2 innings pitched last year. Closer Blake Talley is also gone after registering three wins and five saves with a 1.86 ERA in 21 appearances.
• Bradley Bailey returns to the rotation after going 3-1 with a 5.40 earned run average in 10 appearances and six starts in 2016.
The Mules
• Central Missouri returns 17 letterwinners and five position starters from the 2016 squad that finished 43-15 overall and won the MIAA regular season, tournament and Central Region championships. The Mules were 32-7 in MIAA play and won the conference regular season crown by five games.
• UCM returns just one All-MIAA player in centerfielder
Matt Elliott. The Mules lost nine all-conference players to graduation or the professional ranks.
• Elliott hit .332 last year with a team-leading eight triples to go along with 10 home runs, 38 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases.
•
Cole Distler hit .318 with seven home runs, 36 RBIs and 21 extra-base hits.
•
Matt Safranek and
Jackson Schnurbusch combined for 83 hits, 18 extra-base hits and 50 RBIs, while forming one of the league's best double play combinations up the middle.
•
Jesse Steinbring and
Ben Kelsch return in the starting rotation after solid freshmen campaigns. Steinbring was 1-1 with an 8.44 ERA in 11 appearances and four starts, while Kelsch was 2-0 with a 4.35 earned run average in 11 total appearances and three starts.
•
Tayler Ross and
Andy Muehlberger return to anchor the UCM bullpen. Ross was 1-0 with a 1.16 ERA and one save in 12 appearances. He struck out 21 batters in 23.1 innings, while Muehlberger was 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA in 17 appearances. He fanned 12 in 11.2 innings of work.
Mules picked to finish first in MIAA Preseason Poll
• Central Missouri was picked to finish first in the MIAA according to the 14 league coaches in the preseason poll released last Friday. The Mules received nine of 13 first place votes and tallied 140 points to sit atop the poll. Emporia State was second with Missouri Western third, followed by Missouri Southern and Washburn to round out the top five.
• UCM is scheduled to open MIAA play Feb. 24-26, hosting Fort Hays State at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Mules in the Polls
• Central Missouri is ranked third in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll.
• UCM is ranked No. 1 in the NCBWA Preseason Central Region poll as well.
• The Mules are unranked in the Perfect Game poll.
Mules in season-openers
• The Mules are 30-22 in season-openers since 1965. UCM has dropped four straight season-openers, all at the Houston Winter Invitational.
Mules in non-conference action
• The Mules went 11-8 in non-conference action during the 2016 season.
• The Mules were 7-9 in non-conference games in
Kyle Crookes' first season and are 18-17 overall in non-con action under Crookes.
Mules in MIAA play
• The Mules finished 32-7 in MIAA play last season and are 55-20 in conference play under
Kyle Crookes.
• The Mules won their fifth MIAA Regular Season Championship in the last seven years and the 25th overall in program history this season.
The Mules at home
• The Mules went 19-3 in home games during the 2016 season.
• Central Missouri was 15-5 at home during the 2015 season and is 34-8 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 774-152-1 (.835) in 927 games played in their 42nd season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Mules on the road
• The Mules went 14-5 on the road in 2016 and are 26-18 on the road under head coach
Kyle Crookes.
Mules in neutral site games
• The Mules were 10-7 in neutral site games in 2016 and are 12-10 in neutral site games under Crookes.
Keys to success
• For the Mules in 2016, a big key to success was scoring early. The Mules were 30-8 when scoring first and 21-4 when they scored in the first inning.
• With the MIAA's top pitching staff, the Mules were almost unbeatable when they held a late lead. UCM was 34-4 when leading after six innings and 31-2 when leading after the eighth.
Three bagger
• Junior centerfielder
Matt Elliott had eight triples last season, the fifth most in a single-season in UCM history.
Moving On
• Four pitchers from last year's squad are now playing in the professional ranks.
Grant Gavin (Kansas City Royals - 29th round) and
Lucas Williams (Houston Astros - 40th round) were both selected in the MLB Amateur Draft, while
Tyler House (Tampa Bay Rays) and
Ethan Westphal (Colorado Rockies) both signed free agent deals after the season.
UCM during the Crookes era
•
Kyle Crookes has a 73-37 (.664) record in his third season as head coach at Central Missouri.
• Last season he won his first conference championship as head coach at UCM and the second title overall during his time in Warrensburg.
• During his first two seasons at the helm, 20 players have earned All-MIAA honors, including three First Team nods. Four players have earned All-Region honors and two players have been selected in the MLB Draft.
• 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 2017 season marks the 62nd in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 1,832-723-9 (.716) record in 2,564 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 17 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)
• 21 MIAA Tournament Titles (17 of the last 23)
• 17 Regional Championships
• 15 Regionals as host site
• 14 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 801-212 (.791) since the year 2000. An average of 47 wins per season over the last 17 years.
A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics
• Entering the 2016 fall semester, Central Missouri has won a combined 207 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last year, UCM captured two MIAA regular season titles, three MIAA Tournament crowns and three NCAA Regional Championships.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 153 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won eight national championships during Hughes' tenure (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 232 student-athletes named to the 2015-16 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 28 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.
• 19 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had seven student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with four of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
• Since the year 2000, UCM is sixth in NCAA-II with 53 Academic All-Americans.
• Two UCM student-athletes were awarded prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships last year.
Upcoming
• The Mules travel to Arkadelphia, Ark. next weekend for three non-conference games. UCM will play Truman State on Friday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. before playing Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
