Mules return home for key early season series against Central Oklahoma

First Pitch
• The third-ranked Central Missouri Mules return home to host Central Oklahoma in a three-game MIAA series at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• The series gets underway on Friday at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader. Saturday's series finale is set for 2 p.m. with the potential of moving that game to Sunday at 2 p.m. due to Saturday's forecasted inclement weather.

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 Bronchos have met 41 times on the diamond with Central Missouri holding a 25-16 lead in the all-time series.
• The Mules won two of three meetings last year in Edmond. UCM won the opener 4-2 in 10 innings and the finale 6-2, dropping the middle game of the series 15-7.
• UCM is 5-3 against UCO under Kyle Crookes.

Central Oklahoma
• Central Oklahoma enters the weekend series at 13-3-1 overall and 4-2 in MIAA play after going 1-0-1 against SE Oklahoma State on Tuesday. The Bronchos won the first game 8-6 before tying the second game 1-1 when the game was called due to darkness. UCO took two out of three games from Fort Hays State last weekend.
• The Bronchose are batting .329 as a team with 36 doubles, four triples, 18 home runs and 132 RBI.
• Jake Dyer leads the team with a robust .431 batting average. He has six doubles, two home runs and leads the team with 20 RBI.
• Jon Kamies is batting .390 with five doubles, a triple, three home runs and 18 runs batted in.
• Korey Floyd bats .317 with four homers and 16 driven in.
• Caleb Peters leads the team with five home runs and is batting .545, playing in 10 of 17 games.
• The Bronchos have three qualified hitters and seven overall that are hitting .317 or better.
• The UCO pitching staff has a 4.16 earned run average through 17 games. They've struck out 134 batters and walked 59 in 140.2 innings pitched.
• Ben Wusterbarth is 1-0 with a 2.41 ERA in nine relief appearances. He has 17 strikeouts in 18.2 innings and is limiting opponents to a .194 average.
• J.D. Cameron is 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA in three starts and four total appearances.
• Holden Capps is 4-0 with a 4.50 earned run average in four starts. He leads the team with 25 punchouts in 24.0 innings. Opponents are batting .278 against him and have hit four home runs.
• Gibson Russ is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA and a team-leading three saves in seven relief appearances. He's fanned 12 batters in seven innings of work.
• Greg Hyde is 1-1 with a 3.00 earned run average while leading the team with 10 relief apperances. He's struck out 15 batters in 12.0 innings of work.
• The Bronchos sport a .948 team fielding percentage. They've turned 13 double plays and have committed 19 errors on the season.

The Mules
• Central Missouri is 13-3 overall and 5-1 in MIAA play after winning two out of three at Pittsburg State last weekend.
• The Mules are batting .295 as a team with 35 doubles, 11 triples, 10 home runs and 90 RBI.
• Justin Graff-Rowe is batting a team-best .400 with four doubles, two triples, one home run and 10 RBI.
• Erik Webb is hitting .349 with six doubles, three triples and is tied for second on the team with 12 runs batted in.
• Collin Nevil is hitting .339 and leads the team with four home runs and is second with 12 RBI. He hit all four homers during the Pitt State series.
• Blake Wilfong is hitting .351 with a pair of doubles, a triple and five driven in.
• Travis Stroup leads the team with 16 RBI and eight doubles and is second with three home runs while hitting .297.
• The pitching staff has a 2.70 earned run average over 140.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 128 and walked 52 over that span. As a staff, the Mules are holding opponents to a .225 batting average.
• Steven D'Amico is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in three starts and five total appearances. He is second on the team with 19 strikeouts in 26.2 innings pitched. He also has one save.
• Taylor Burns is 2-1 with a 2.78 ERA in two starts and five total appearances. He leads the staff with 20 punchouts in 22.2 innings of work while limiting opponents to a .207 batting average.
• Luke Mercer is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in six relief appearances. He has fanned 10 in 10.0 innings.
• Andy Muehlberger is 1-0 with a 1.80 earned run average and a team-leading two saves. He's struck out seven in five innings of work and has allowed just two hits while holding opponents to a .176 batting average.
• The Mules have a .954 team fielding percentage. They've turned 17 double plays and committed 29 errors on the season.

Last time out
PITTSBURG, Kan. (March 5, 2017) -- Collin Nevil hit a pair of home runs and Travis Able provided the game-winning runs with a two-run double in the eighth as the third-ranked Mules beat Pittsburg State 7-5 on Sunday at Al Ortolani Field. The Mules took two out of three games from the Gorillas and are now 13-3 overall and 5-1 in MIAA play.
    Pittsburg State (7-11, 1-5 MIAA) struck first scoring an unearned run in the second to grab a 1-0 lead. The Mules quickly responded with Nevil belting a two-run home run to right center to put UCM in front 2-1.
    The Gorillas tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on Dallas Reed's RBI single, but the Mules regained the lead, 3-2, in the top of the sixth on Nevil's second home run of the game and fourth of the series.
    Justin Graff-Rowe and Erik Webb had back-to-back RBI doubles in the seventh and the Mules led 5-2. Able's two-out, two-run double down the left field line in the eighth scored Jackson Schnurbusch and Mason Janvrin to give the Mules a 7-2 lead.
    The Gorillas took advantage of two walks, a hit batter and two UCM errors in the bottom of the eighth to score three times and pull within 7-5, but Andy Muehlberger came on in relief to strike out Reed with the go-ahead run at the plate.
    Muehlberger set the Gorillas down in order in the ninth, two by strikeout, to earn his second save in as many games. Luke Mercer (2-0) earned the win in relief for the Mules after allowing two runs on three hits in 2.1 innings of relief.
    Dante Richardson (0-1) took the loss for Pitt State, giving up three runs on five hits in 5.1 innings of work.
    Graff-Rowe, Webb, Nevil and Matt Elliott all had two hits apiece for UCM with Nevil driving in three.

Mules in the Polls
• Central Missouri stayed put at No. 3 in this week's ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll.
• The Mules stayed at No. 2 in the NCBWA national poll and No. 1 in the NCBWA's Central Region poll.
• The Mules moved up three spots to No. 15 in the D2BaseballNews.com poll and stayed at No. 20 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 5-1 in MIAA play after taking two out of three games at Pittsburg State last weekend.
• The Mules  finished 32-7 in MIAA play last season and are 60-21 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 4-0 at home after the 9-4 win over William Woods.
• UCM went 19-3 in home games last season and is 38-8 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 778-152-1 (.836) in 931 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 over the weekend.
• 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 7-1 when scoring first and 5-1 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 9-0 when leading after six innings.

UCM during the Crookes era
• Kyle Crookes has a 86-40 (.683) 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.

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.

Mules Baseball History
• The 2017 season marks the 62nd in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 1,845-726-9 (.717) record in 2,580 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 814-215 (.791) in 1,029 games 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 Springfield, Mo. on Tuesday, March 14 for a non-conference matchup with Drury. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. at Meador Park.
• UCM travels to Kearney, Neb. next weekend for a three-game set with the Lopers of UNK. The series gets underway on Friday, March 17 at 2 p.m.