Ninth-ranked Mules return home to host Lindenwood in midweek matchup

First Pitch
• The ninth-ranked Central Missouri Mules return home to host Lindenwood in the first MIAA midweek game of the season on Tuesday, March 21.
• Tuesday's game is slated for a 6 p.m. start at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.

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 Lions have met 31 times on the diamond with Central Missouri holding a 23-8 lead in the series.
• The Mules went 3-0 last year against Lindenwood. All three games were single midweek games. UCM won 4-3 in 11 innings and 6-4 in St. Charles, while posting a 5-1 win in Warrensburg.
• UCM is 4-3 against Lindenwood under Kyle Crookes.

Lindenwood
• Lindenwood enters the midweek matchup at 15-9 overall and 8-4 in MIAA play after taking two out of three from Central Oklahoma over the weekend in St. Charles.
• The Lions are led by 10th-year head coach Doug Bletcher. He has compiled a 297-207-1 record during his tenure with Lindenwood and a 656-389-2 record during his 19 years as a college head coach.
• Lindenwood is batting .288 as a team with 40 doubles, 11 triples, seven home runs and 140 RBI in 24 games.
• Drew Quinones leads the team with a .407 batting average. He is also tied for the team lead with six doubles and two home runs. His 18 RBI are second most on the squad.
• Wes Degener is batting .369  and is 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts.
• Kyle Teter leads the team with 25 runs batted in while hitting .300. He has a team-best four triples.
• Five Lions are hitting .300 or better with six players driving in at least 10 runs.
• The LWU pitching staff has a 4.03 earned run average through 24 games and 203.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 208 and walked just 68 during that span while opponents are batting .269 against them.
• Brendan Feldmann is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in eight appearances, including five starts. He leads the staff with 52 punchouts in 39.2 innings pitched.
• Blake Beckmann is 5-1 with a 3.76 ERA in five starts and seven appearances, while Andrew Eilers is 4-1 with a 3.89 ERA in seven starts.
• Connor Law is 1-0 with a 1.93 earned run average in 11 relief appearances. He has a team-best six saves and has struck out 18 batters in 14 innings of work.
• The Lions sport a .967 team fielding percentage. They've turned 17 double plays and have committed 28 errors on the season.

Central Missouri
• Central Missouri is 17-5 overall and 9-3 in MIAA play after winning two out of three games at Nebraska-Kearney last weekend.
• The Mules are batting .308 as a team with 50 doubles, 13 triples, 19 home runs and 137 RBI.
• Justin Graff-Rowe is batting a team-best .436 with seven doubles, two triples, one home run and 15 RBI. His batting average is also fifth best in the MIAA.
• Erik Webb is hitting .400 with eight doubles, four triples, three home runs and is third on the team with 19 runs batted in.
• Collin Nevil is hitting .333 and is tied for the team lead with six home runs and is second with 21 RBI.
• Travis Stroup leads the team with 26 RBI and 10 doubles and is tied with Nevil for the team lead with six home runs while hitting .329.
• The pitching staff has a 2.90 earned run average over 189.1 innings pitched. They've struck out 167 and walked 68 over that span. As a staff, the Mules are holding opponents to a .230 batting average.
• Steven D'Amico is 3-0 with a 1.91 ERA in five starts and seven total appearances. He is tied for the team lead with 27 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched. He also has one save. His 1.91 earned run average leads the MIAA.
• Zach Girrens is 3-0 with a 2.16 earned run average in five starts. He's fanned 27 batters in 25.0 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .165 batting average.
• Taylor Burns is 3-2 with a 2.60 ERA in four starts and seven total appearances. He has struck out 26 batters in 34.2 innings of work.
• Andy Muehlberger is 1-1 with a 5.06 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 .105 batting average.
• Ross Juliana is 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA in five relief appearances, while Tayler Ross is 2-0 with a 3.29 earned run average in nine relief appearances. They've struck out a combined 23 batters in 29.0 innings pitched between them.
• The Mules have a .959 team fielding percentage. They've turned 23 double plays and committed 35 errors on the season.

Worth Noting
• The Mules hit .395 (15-for-38) with runners in scoring position during the UNK series. They held the Lopers to a .217 (5-for-23) average in the same situations. UCM was also 5-for-10 with runners on third and less than two outs during the three games.
• During his current 13-game hitting streak, Justin Graff-Rowe is hitting .468 (22-for-47) with five doubles, a triple, home run and nine RBI. He's scored 17 runs and has a .536 on-base percentage and a .681 slugging percentage. The junior outfielder has also reached base in 21 consecutive games.
• The Mules have scored at least one run in 130 of 132 games played under head coach Kyle Crookes.

Last time out
KEARNEY, Neb. (March 19, 2017) -- There would be no late inning rally for Nebraska-Kearney in the series as fourth-ranked Central Missouri scored early and often in an 11-0 run-rule win over the Lopers on Sunday afternoon at Memorial Field. The victory gave the Mules a 2-1 edge in the series.
    The Mules (17-5, 9-3 MIAA) jumped on top in the first inning on an Erik Webb solo home run. It was his second in as many games and the start of fantastic day the plate for the freshman designated hitter. Webb continued his damage at the plate in the third when he hit his second home run in as many at-bats, this time a three-run shot, to give the Mules a 4-0 lead over the Lopers (8-14, 1-8 MIAA). The lead grew to 5-0 in the fifth when Webb was able to score from third after Travis Stroup got caught in a rundown between first and second.
    Miles Orscheln got in on the action in the top of the sixth when he belted a two-run shot to left center to give UCM a 7-0 lead. The Mules made it 11-0 in the seventh when Matt Elliott singled home two runs with the bases loaded and Orscheln followed it up with a two-run double.
    The 11 runs was more than enough for Taylor Burns (3-2) who allowed just three hits and struck out three over a seven-inning complete-game performance. Webb finished the day 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, two home runs, four RBI and four runs scored. Orscheln was 2-for-4 with a double, home run and four runs batted in. Elliott also drove in a pair as the Mules won their fifth straight series to open the season.
    Trey Ertmer (1-3) was tagged with the loss after giving up seven runs on six hits in 5.1 innings of work.

Mules in the Polls
• Central Missouri dropped five spots to No. 9 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 9-3 in MIAA play after taking two out of three games at Nebraska-Kearney last weekend.
• The Mules  finished 32-7 in MIAA play last season and are 64-23 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 5-3 on the road this year after taking two out of three at Nebraska-Kearney last weekend.
• The Mules went 14-5 on the road in 2016 and are 31-21 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
• The keys for the Mules early on this season have been jumping on their opponents early and then slamming the door late. The Mules are 10-2 this season when scoring first and 9-3 when they score in the first inning. They are also 13-1 when leading after six innings and 12-1 when leading after eight 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 90-42 (.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 1,849-728-9 (.717) record in 2,586 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 Championships (17 titles in the last 23 seasons)
• 21 MIAA Tournament Championships (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 818-217 (.790) in 1,035 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 head back out on the road for a three-game set at Northwest Missouri starting on Friday, March 24.
• Central Missouri hosts Drury on Tuesday, March 28 in a game that was rescheduled from March 14 due to inclement weather.