First Pitch
• The fourth-ranked Central Missouri Mules head to Kearney, Neb. for a three-game MIAA series against the Lopers of Nebraska-Kearney.
• The series gets underway on Friday afternoon with a 2 p.m. first pitch at Memorial Field in Kearney. Saturday's game is slated for a 2 p.m. start as well with Sunday's series finale set to begin at 1 p.m.

Quick Hits
• Central Missouri started 4-0 in conference play for the first time since 2013.
• 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.

The Series
• The Mules and Lopers have met 13 times on the diamond with Central Missouri holding a 9-4 lead in the all-time series.
• The Mules won two of three meetings last year in Warrensburg. UCM won the opener 12-5 and the second game 3-0 before Nebraska-Kearney rallied for a 5-4 win in the finale.
• UCM is 4-1 against Nebraska-Kearney under Kyle Crookes.
• This will be the first trip to UNK for the Mules during Crookes' tenure.

Nebraska-Kearney
• Nebraska-Kearney enters the weekend series at 7-12 overall and 0-6 in MIAA play. The Lopers have lost seven straight games, including an 11-7 loss to Sioux Falls on Monday.
• The Lopers are led by 14th-year head coach Damon Day. He has compiled a 359-353 record during his tenure at UNK.
• Nebraska-Kearney is batting .291 as a team with 41 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 93 RBI through 19 games.
• Dallas Schramm leads the team with a blistering .431 batting average. He also has a team-best eight doubles, four home runs and 24 RBI.
• Ricky Trammell is hitting .403 with seven doubles and 10 runs driven in.
• Billy Hays bats .383 with a pair of doubles and triples while Easton Edmond and Pate Katechis each have a pair of home runs.
• Four Lopers are hitting .313 or better with four players also having driven in 10 or more runs.
• The UNK pitching staff has a 6.76 earned run average through 19 games and 151.2 innings pitched. They've struck out 137 and walked 68 during that span while opponents are batting .330 against them.
• Mitchell Robinson is 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA in five starts. He has 26 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched and has tossed one complete game.
• Bradley Brown is 2-1 with a 6.04 earned run average in five starts and leads the staff with 27 punchouts in 28.1 innings pitched.
• Trey Ertmer is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA in five appearances and three starts. He's fanned 21 in 16.0 innings of work.
• Sean Laughlin has struck out 11 batters in 9.2 innings of relief. He has a 3.72 ERA in five appearances.
• Weston Glienke has struck out 11 batters in 7.2 innings of relief over eight appearances. He is 1-0 with a 5.87 earned run average.
• The Lopers sport a .963 team fielding percentage. They've turned 15 double plays and have committed 24 errors on the season.

Central Missouri
• Central Missouri is 15-4 overall and 7-2 in MIAA play after winning two out of three games at home against Central Oklahoma last weekend.
• The Mules are batting .296 as a team with 39 doubles, 12 triples, 11 home runs and 109 RBI.
• Justin Graff-Rowe is batting a team-best .431 with five doubles, two triples, one home run and 12 RBI.
• Erik Webb is hitting .377 with six doubles, four triples and is third on the team with 14 runs batted in.
• Collin Nevil is hitting .311 and is tied for the team lead with four home runs and is second with 16 RBI. He hit all four homers during the Pitt State series.
• Travis Stroup leads the team with 22 RBI and eight doubles and is tied with Nevil for the team lead with four home runs while hitting .296.
• The pitching staff has a 2.73 earned run average over 165.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 148 and walked 59 over that span. As a staff, the Mules are holding opponents to a .225 batting average.
• Steven D'Amico is 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA in four starts and six total appearances. He leads the team with 24 strikeouts in 32.2 innings pitched. He also has one save.
• Zach Girrens is 2-0 with a 2.37 earned run average in four starts. He's fanned 21 batters in 19.0 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .169 batting average.
• Taylor Burns is 2-2 with a 3.25 ERA in three starts and six total appearances. He has struck out 23 batters in 27.2 innings of work.
• Andy Muehlberger is 1-0 with a 1.69 earned run average and a team-leading three saves. He's struck out eight in 5.1 innings of work and has allowed just two hits while holding opponents to a .111 batting average.
• Ross Juliana is 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA in five relief appearances, while Tayler Ross is 2-0 with a 2.45 earned run average in eight relief appearances. They've struck out a combined 20 batters in 26.1 innings pitched between them.
• The Mules have a .957 team fielding percentage. They've turned 19 double plays and committed 32 errors on the season.

Worth Noting
• The Mules hit .320 (8-for-25) with runners in scoring position during the UCO series. They held the Bronchos to a .192 (5-for-26) average in the same situations. UCM was also 8-for-8 with runners on third and less than two outs during the three games.
• During his current 10-game hitting streak, Justin Graff-Rowe is hitting .471 (16-for-34) with three doubles, a triple, home run and six RBI. He's scored 14 runs and has a .537 on-base percentage and a .706 slugging percentage. The junior outfielder has also reached base in 18 consecutive games.
• The Mules have scored at least one run in 127 of 129 games played under head coach Kyle Crookes.

Last time out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 12, 2017) -- Steven D'Amico tossed six innings of one-hit baseball and the offense erupted for 12 runs on 14 hits as the third-ranked Mules beat Central Oklahoma 12-0 to claim a series win on Sunday at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
    The Mules (15-4, 7-2 MIAA) wasted no time in jumping on top, scoring twice in the bottom of the first. Justin Graff-Rowe led off with an infield single and when Erik Webb's bunt single was thrown into right field he scored all the way from first. Webb went all the way to third on the play and scored one batter later on Travis Stroup's RBI groundout.
    UCM broke the game open in the second, plating four runs to lead 6-0. All four runs in the inning were scored with two outs. Graff-Rowe had an RBI double to score Jackson Schnurbusch from first. Webb then tripled down the line to right to drive in a run and later scored on Stroup's RBI single. Stroup subsequently stole second and scored on Collin Nevil's single through the left side.
    Schnurbusch doubled home Elijah Dilday in the bottom of the third and the Mules led 7-0. The Bronchos (14-5-1, 5-4 MIAA) picked up their first hit of the game with two outs in the fourth, a triple by Anthony Alvarez, but D'Amico struck out Caleb Peters to end the inning and keep UCO off the board.
    The Mules plated four more runs in the fourth to open up an 11-0 lead. Webb scored on Nevil's RBI fielder's choice for the first run. Nevil stole second and scored on Matt Elliott's RBI single to make it 9-0. Dilday added an RBI single and Miles Orscheln scored on a Broncho throwing error to give UCM the 11-0 advantage.
    The Mules tacked on one more run in the sixth on a Dilday RBI groundout for the 12-0 final.
    D'Amico (3-0) allowed just one hit over six innings of work. He struck out five and walked two in picking up his third win of the season. Nick Houston closed out the game, allowing one hit while striking out one in his first action as a Mule.
    J.D. Cameron (1-2) took the loss for Central Oklahoma after allowing six runs on seven hits in just 1.2 innings of work.
    Eight of UCM's nine players in the game recorded hits with Graff-Rowe leading the charge with three. Webb, Elliott, Orscheln and Schnurbusch all had two hits apiece; while Stroup, Nevil, and Dilday all drove in two runs each.

Mules in the Polls
• Central Missouri slipped one spot to No. 4 in this week's ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll.
• The Mules stayed at No. 2 in last week's NCBWA national poll and No. 1 in the NCBWA's Central Region poll.
• The Mules moved up one spot to No. 14 in the D2BaseballNews.com poll and three spots to No. 17 in the Perfect Game poll.

Mules in non-conference action
• Central Missouri is 8-2 in non-conference action this season after the win over William Woods.
• The Mules are 26-19 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' three seasons.

Mules in MIAA play
• The Mules are 7-2 in MIAA play after taking two out of three games from Central Oklahoma last weekend.
• The Mules  finished 32-7 in MIAA play last season and are 62-22 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.

The Mules at home
• The Mules are 6-1 at home this season after taking two out of three from Central Oklahoma last weekend.
• UCM went 19-3 in home games last season and is 40-9 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 780-153-1 (.836) in 934 games played in their 42nd season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.

Mules on the road
• The Mules are 3-2 on the road this year after taking two out of three at Pitt State the first weekend of March.
• The Mules went 14-5 on the road in 2016 and are 29-20 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 8-1 when scoring first and 7-2 when scoring in the first inning.
• 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 11-0 when leading after six innings.

Three-bagger
• Freshman Erik Webb has four triples through the season's first 16 games. He is three triples shy of moving into a tie for eighth most in a single-season in program history.
• Senior Matt Elliott has one triple this season after posting eight last year, the fifth most in a single-season in UCM history. He is two triples shy of moving in to a tie for 10th most all-time at UCM.

UCM during the Crookes era
• Kyle Crookes has a 88-41 (.682) 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 1,847-727-9 (.717) record in 2,583 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 appearances in the last 23 years)
• 25 MIAA Titles (17 championships in the last 23 seasons)
• 21 MIAA Tournament Titles (17 titles in the last 23 tournaments)
• 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 816-216 (.791) in 1,032 games since the year 2000. An average of 48 wins per season over the last 17 years.

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.
• During Crookes' coaching career seven Mules have gone on to affiliated professional baseball and 25 players total have been drafted or signed professional contracts with Major League Baseball organizations.
• In total, 74 former Central Missouri players have either been drafted or signed free agent contracts with MLB organizations.

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 return home next Tuesday, March 21 to host Lindenwood in the first MIAA midweek game of the season. The Mules and Lions will get underway at 6 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• Central Missouri heads back out on the road for four games beginning with a three-game set at Northwest Missouri starting on Friday, March 24.