First Pitch
• The third-ranked Central Missouri Mules return to action with three in-region games this weekend in Arkadelphia, Ark. at the Henderson State Invitational.
• The Mules will take on former MIAA foe Truman State on Friday night at 6 p.m. before playing the host schools Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
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.
• UCM won its final eight games of the regular season to wrap up the MIAA crown.
• The shutout loss to Cal Poly Pomona in last year's World Series finale snapped a streak of 106 straight games without being shutout.
The Series
• Central Missouri and Truman State have met 154 times on the diamond with the Mules holding a 135-19 lead in the all-time series. UCM has won 84 straight games in the series, but the teams have not met since 2013.
• This will be the 10th all-time meeting between UCM and OBU. The Mules hold a slim 5-4 advantage. The Tigers took two of three games from the Mules in their last meeting early in the 2014 season.
• The Mules lead the all-time series with Henderson State 17-4, but the Reddies have won the last two meetings with both coming at the Houston Winter Invitational the last two seasons.
Truman State
• Truman State enters the season picked to finish seventh in the GLVC West Division. The Bulldogs were 20-30 last season.
• The Bulldogs return two of their top four hitters from last year in Nick Agliolo, who hit .360 with three home runs and 34 RBI in 2016, and preseason All-Region selection Dave Gambino, who hit .308 with four home runs and 34 runs batted in last year.
• Truman's top returning starter is Kent Frantz, who went 2-6 with a 6.12 ERA in 12 starts last year. He struck out 42 batters in 60.1 innings pitched.
• The Bulldogs also return their top reliever from a season ago, Peter Young. He was 3-1 with a 1.80 earned run average in 18 relief appearances in 2016. He led the team with eight saves and opponents hit just .213 against him.
Ouachita Baptist
• Ouachita Baptist enters the weekend at 0-4 on the season. The Tigers were swept in a three-game series last weekend by Union and dropped a game to Arkansas-Monticello 7-5 on Tuesday.
• OBU is batting .209 as a team with seven extra-base hits and 11 RBI through four games. The Tigers have scored 14 runs through their first four games while giving up 28.
• J.D. Speed leads the team in hitting with a .444 average.
• Preston Speers leads the team with four RBI to go along with a .250 batting average. He also owns the team's only home run.
• The Tigers have a 5.91 team earned run average over four games and 35.0 innings pitched. They've walked 25 and struck out 22 as a staff.
• Abe Young is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA in one start.
• Adam Bahloul sports a 3.86 ERA in two relief appearances. He leads the team with eight strikeouts in seven innings of work.
• The Tigers sport a .959 team fielding percentage. They've turned four double plays and committed six errors on the season.
Henderson State
• Henderson State enters the weekend at 3-0 after beating Pittsburg State twice and Arkansas-Fort Smith once on opening weekend.
• The Reddies are batting .232 as a team while the pitching staff sports a miniscule 1.00 earned run average.Â
• Parker Jones hit .636 the first weekend of the season with seven hits in 11 at-bats. He drove in two runs.
• Joe Myers is batting .444 with a pair of doubles and runs batted in.
• Jordan Taylor leads the team with three RBI in 13 at-bats.
• Chris Hunt and Bryant Haralson are both 1-0 with 0.00 earned run averages. Hunt struck out nine batters and allowed just two hits over six innings in his first start of the season.
• The Reddies have a .975 team fielding percentage. They've turned nine double plays and committed just three errors this seaon.
The Mules
• Central Missouri is 2-1 on the season after taking the season-opening series with North Alabama last weekend
• The Mules are batting .263 as a team with six doubles and 12 RBI. They're also 6-for-12 in stolen base attempts.
•
Travis Stroup is batting .500 after the opening weekend with three of his four hits being doubles.
•
Collin Nevil leads the team with four runs batted in.
• The pitching staff has a 2.77 earned run average over 26.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 20 and walked 13 over that span.
•
JJ Benes is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA after his first start.
Steven D'Amico has the team's lone save with a 0.00 earned run average in four innings of two-hit relief.
• The Mules have a .942 team fielding percentage. They've turned three double plays and committed seven 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.
Last time out
MILLINGTON, Tenn. (Feb. 5, 2017) -- Third-ranked Central Missouri took advantage of nine North Alabama errors en route to a 9-3 win in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at the USA Stadium. The Mules grabbed the series win as well, winning the final two games of the three-game set.
   The Mules (2-1) struck first plating a pair of runs on
Collin Nevil's two-run single in the bottom of the first. North Alabama (1-2) rallied in the top of the second, plating three unearned runs to grab a 3-2 lead. Payton Thomas singled home two runs to tie the game and later scored on a double steal attempt to give the Lions the lead.
   Central Missouri came right back in the home half to regain the lead. The Mules had just two hits in the bottom of the second, but they took advantage of four UNA errors to plate five runs and grab a 7-3 lead.
Elijah Dilday drove home the first two runs with a bases loaded single to put UCM back in front.
Justin Graff-Rowe added an RBI on an error by the shortstop to make it 5-3 Mules. Nevil brought home two more runs, earning one RBI, as another UNA error made it a four-run UCM lead.
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Jackson Schnurbusch scored a run in the bottom of the fifth on another UNA error on a ball off the bat of Dilday to make it 8-3. The Mules tacked on one more in the eighth when Dilday scored on an error off the bat of Graff-Rowe.
   The nine runs were more than enough for
JJ Benes and
Steven D'Amico. Benes (1-0) went five innings, allowing three unearned runs on five hits while striking out three. D'Amico tossed four innings of two-hit relief to pick up his first save of the season.
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. 28 in the D2BaseballNews.com poll and are unranked in the Perfect Game poll.
Mules in non-conference action
• Central Missouri is 2-1 in non-conference action so far this season.
• The Mules are 20-18 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 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
• UCM is 2-1 in neutral site games this season after the season-opening weekend in Millington, Tennessee.
• The Mules were 10-7 in neutral site games last year and are 14-11 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.
• 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 75-38 (.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 1,834-724-9 (.716) record in 2,567 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 803-213 (.790) 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 head to Houston, Texas next weekend for the Fifth Annual Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park. UCM will play three games in three days against Arkansas-Fort Smith, Tarleton State and Chico State.
