First Pitch
• The third-ranked Central Missouri Mules return home to host Fort Hays State in the MIAA and home-opening series at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• The series has been moved up a day and gets underway on Thursday at 4 p.m.
• Friday and Saturday's games are scheduled to start at 2 p.m. each day.

Quick Hits
• Central Missouri was picked to finish first in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Central Missouri's 43 wins in 2016 were its most since 2012, when it totaled 48.

On the air
• Thursday and Friday's games can be heard on 1450 KOKO and warrensburgradio.com.
• Bob Jackson will be on the call with the Mules' Dugout Show beginning 25 minutes prior to first pitch.

The Series
• Central Missouri and Fort Hays State have met 45 times on the diamond with the Mules holding a 32-13 lead in the series.
• The Mules took two out of three from the Tigers last year in Hays. FHSU won the opener 8-7 in 10 innings before the Mules took the final two games of the series by scores of 14-0 and 16-12.
• Central Missouri is 4-3 against Fort Hays State under Kyle Crookes.

Fort Hays State
• Fort Hays State enters the series at 6-4 overall after taking two out of three games from Colorado Christian over the weekend.
• The Tigers are batting .307 as a team with 21 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 61 RBI. FHSU has scored 72 runs in 10 games, but they've given up 64.
• Dayton Pomeroy leads the team in hitting with a .417 average and is tied for second on the team with three home runs.
• Trevor Hughes leads the  team with four home runs and 14 RBI while batting .313.
• Jared Bogosian is batting .391 with three doubles and three RBIs.
• Jake Lanferman is second on the team with 10 RBI and three home runs while hitting .342.
• Six players are hitting .313 or better for the Tigers.
• The pitching staff carries a 4.81 earned run average. They've struck out 61 batters and walked 42 in 86.0 innings.
• Sam Capps is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in four appearances and one start. He is second on the team with 16 strikeouts in 12.2 innings pitched. He has walked 10 batters.
• Alex Ruxlow is 2-1 with a 1.65 earned run averge in three starts.
• Ben Ramberg is 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA in three starts and leads the team with 17 strikeouts in 16.2 innings pitched.
• Clayton Basgall carries a 2.70 ERA and two saves in four relief appearances.
• The Tigers sport a .955 team fielding percentage. They've turned nine double plays and committed 18 errors on the season.

The Mules
• Central Missouri is 7-2 on the season after sweeping three games at the Houston Winter Invitational last weekend.
• The Mules are batting .271 as a team with 16 doubles, five triples, one home run and 42 RBI.
• Justin Graff-Row is batting a team-best .387 with two doubles, a triple and six RBI to lead the qualified hitters.
• Matt Safranek is batting .467 in four games with one triple and a pair of runs batted in.
• Elijah Dilday bats .257 with two doubles and four RBI, while Collin Nevil also hits .257 with five RBI and six runs scored.
• Travis Stroup (.250) and Erik Webb (.304) are tied for the team lead with six runs batted in.
• The pitching staff has a 2.47 earned run average over 80.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 67 and walked 23 over that span. As a staff, the Mules are holding opponents to a .218 batting average.
• Steven D'Amico is 1-0 with a 0.53 earned run average in three appearances and one start. He's struck out 12 and walked only two in 17 innings of work. He also has the team's only save.
• JJ Benes is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts. He's allowed four runs, only one earned, on eight hits in seven innings of work while striking out seven.
• Taylor Burns is 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA in three relief appearances. He has 11 punchouts in 11.2 innings of work.
• The Mules have a .950 team fielding percentage. They've turned eight double plays and committed 18 errors on the season.

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.

Worth noting
• The Mules hit .308 (8-for-26) with runners in scoring position during their three games in Houston and limited opponents to a .192 (5-for-26) average in those same situations. UCM hit .667 (4-for-6) with runners on third and less than two outs.

Last time out
HOUSTON, Texas (Feb. 19, 2017) -- Matt Safranek singled home Michael Bainbridge with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the third-ranked Mules won their second straight game by a walk-off, 3-2, over No. 37 Chico State on Sunday at Minute Maid Park. The Mules went 3-0 during the trip to Houston.
    The Mules (7-2) scored one run in the eighth to tie the game and two in the bottom of the ninth after Chico State (7-4) had re-taken the lead in the top half.
    Chico State struck first in the top of the third inning. Cody Snider led off with a single to left. He went to second on a sacrifice bunt, stole third and scored on another sac bunt to make it 1-0 Wildcats.
    That lead stood until the eighth when the Mules finally broke through. Matt Elliott drew a pinch-hit walk, then pinch-runner Mason Janvrin stole second and went to third on a balk before scoring on Jackson Schnurbusch's single to center to knot the game at 1-1.
    Chico State regained the lead in the top of the ninth inning when Snider belted a 2-0 pitch over the wall in right to put the Wildcats back in front 2-1.
    Travis Stroup led off the ninth with a walk and went all the way to third when Collin Nevil's sacrifice bunt attempt was thrown into right field. Nevil went to second on a wild pitch. Stroup was cut down at the plate on Erik Webb's infield grounder, but Nevil moved up to third. Michael Bainbridge then laid down a sac bunt and the throw to the plate was late, allowing Nevil to score to tie the game 2-2.
    Webb was picked off second for the second out of the inning, but during the rundown Bainbridge moved up 90 feet to second base. He went to third on a wild pitch and scored when Safranek's single got threw the left side of the Chico defense sending the Mules into a frenzy behind second base after their second straight walk-off win.
    Steven D'Amico tossed seven solid innings in his first start of the season. He scattered five hits and allowed just one run. Tayler Ross (1-0) picked up the win in relief after allowing one run on two hits in two innings of work.
    Jae Wagner (0-1) took the loss for Chico State after allowing two runs in just one-third of an inning.
    Safranek and Schnurbusch each had two hits and an RBI on the day for the Mules.

Mules in the Polls
• Central Missouri is ranked third in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll and No. 2 by the NCBWA.
• UCM is ranked No. 1 in the NCBWA Preseason Central Region poll as well.
• The Mules come in at No. 21 in the D2BaseballNews.com poll and are unranked in the Perfect Game poll.

Mules in non-conference action
• Central Missouri is 7-2 in non-conference action this season after sweeping all three games at the Houston Winter Invitational.
• The Mules are 25-19 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' three seasons.

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 last season.

Mules in MIAA openers
• The Mules are 0-2 in conference lid-lifters under head coach Kyle Crookes. Both losses have come to Fort Hays State, 9-1 in 2015 and 8-7 in 10 innings last year. Both games were played in Hays.
• UCM is 4-3 in MIAA opening series under Crookes.

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 in home openers
• Central Missouri is 1-1 in home openers under Crookes. UCM beat Pittsburg State 2-1 in last year's home opener.
• In two home-opening series under Crookes, the Mules are 5-2.

Mules on the road
• The Mules are 1-1 on the road this year after splitting games at Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State back on Feb. 11.
• The Mules went 14-5 on the road in 2016 and are 27-19 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes.

Mules in neutral site games
• UCM is 6-1 in neutral site games this season after three wins at the Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park.
• The Mules were 10-7 in neutral site games last year and are 18-11 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. So far in 2017, the Mules are 4-1 when scoring first.
• With the MIAA's top pitching staff last year 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. In 2017, the Mules are 4-0 when leading after six innings and 5-0 when leading after the eighth inning.

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 80-39 (.672) 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 1,839-725-9 (.716) record in 2,573 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 808-214 (.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 will host William Woods in a non-conference game on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. The game was added to the schedule after the season began.
• UCM heads to Pittsburg State next weekend for a three-game MIAA set with the Gorillas beginning on Friday, March 3 at 2 p.m.