First Pitch
• The Central Missouri Mules continue their seven-game road trip with four more games away from home this week.
• The Mules are at Southwest Baptist on Tuesday for a single game starting at 2:30 p.m. They'll travel to Joplin for a three-game series with Missouri Southern beginning on Thursday.
• The series gets underway on at 6 p.m. on Thursday with Friday's game slated for a 3 p.m. start and Saturday's finale set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

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
• Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist have met 112 times on the diamond with the Mules holding a 99-12-1 lead in the series.
• The Mules won all three games last season; 5-1 and 12-10 in Warrensburg, and 9-0 in Bolivar.
• UCM is 5-2 against SBU under Kyle Crookes.
• UCM and Missouri Southern have met 95 times with the Mules holding a 75-20 edge in that series.
• The Mules won two of three meetings between the two schools last year in Warrensburg. They lost the opener 8-2, but won 5-2 and 5-4 in 10 innings in the final two games.
• UCM is 4-3 against the Lions under Crookes.

Southwest Baptist
• Southwest Baptist enters the midweek matchup at 24-10 overall and 14-7 in MIAA play after sweeping Washburn in Topeka over the weekend. The Bearcats are 15-4 at home this season.
• SBU is batting .332 as a team with 70 doubles, 13 triples, 30 home runs and 241 RBI in 34 games.
• Andrew Meier leads the team with a .396 batting average 26 games played.
• Hunter Hisky is hitting .380 with a team-best 15 doubles and four triples. He also has five home runs and leads the team with 42 RBI.
• Jovany Urbieta is tied for the team lead with six homers and also has 35 RBI while hitting .375.
• Sean Murley bats .311 with six home runs and 31 runs batted in.
• Eight Bearcats hit .301 or better and 10 players have driven in double figure runs.
• The Bearcat pitching staff has a 5.92 earned run average through 34 games and 292.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 203 and walked 131 during that span while opponents are batting .308 against them.
• Chance Wolfe is 5-1 with a 3.24 ERA and six saves in 15 relief appearances.
• Drew Wagner is 4-0 with a 3.33 earned run average in 14 appearances and six starts. He leads the staff with 36 strikeouts in 46 innings of work.
• Brian Womack is 7-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 10 appearances and nine starts.
• The Bearcats have used 15 different pitchers this season.
• SBU sports a .961 team fielding percentage. They've turned 27 double plays and have committed 50 errors on the season.

Missouri Southern
• Missouri Southern enters the week at 20-18 overall and 12-12 in MIAA play after being swept at Northwest Missouri over the weekend.
• MSSU is batting .307 as a team with 90 doubles, eight triples, 52 home runs and 272 RBI in 38 games.
• Max Hogan leads the team with a .413 batting average and 10 home runs. Both numbers are second-best in the MIAA. He also has 41 RBI and a .549 on-base percentage.
• Tyler Sutherland is hitting .358 with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 36 RBI.
• Brett Graham leads the Lions in RBI with 42. He's hitting .349 with 16 extra-base hits, including six home runs.
• Six Lions hit .301 or better, while 12 players have hit home runs and nine have driven in at least 12 runs.
• The MSSU pitching staff has a 5.60 earned run average through 38 games and 342.2 innings pitched. They've struck out 230 and walked 146 during that span while opponents are batting .286 against them.
• Seth Mesey is 2-2 with a 5.16 earned run averagein nine starts. He's thrown three complete games as well.
• Dan Hawk is 1-3 with a 5.25 ERA in 12 starts. He leads the team with 42 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched.
• Cody Smith is 5-4 with a 2.45 ERA and four saves in 17 relief appearances. Opponents bat just .165 against him and he's fanned 27 batters in 25.2 innings of work.
• Colin Chandler has appeared in a team-high 18 games. He has a 3-1 record with a 3.90 ERA in 30 innings pitched.
• The Lions sport a .967 team fielding percentage. They've turned 26 double plays and have committed 48 errors on the season.

Central Missouri
• Central Missouri is 22-11 overall and 13-8 in MIAA play after dropping two of three games at Emporia State over the weekend.
• The Mules are batting .311 as a team with 69 doubles, 18 triples, 36 home runs and 210 RBI.
• Justin Graff-Rowe is batting a team and MIAA-leading .441 with eight doubles, three triples, four home runs and 32 RBI. He currently sports a .497 on-base percentage, second best in the league.
• Collin Nevil is hitting .353. He leads the team and the MIAA with 11 home runs. His 37 RBI are also a team-best and rank seventh in the conference.
• Erik Webb is hitting .343 with 12 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 24 runs batted in.
• The pitching staff has a 3.70 earned run average over 286.2 innings pitched. They've struck out 258 and walked 119 over that span. As a staff, the Mules are holding opponents to a .249 batting average.
• Zach Girrens is 4-0 with a 2.68 ERA in seven starts. He leads the team with 42 strikeouts in 37.0 innings pitched and is limiting opponents to a .189 batting average.
• Steven D'Amico is 4-1 with an MIAA-best 2.47 ERA in seven starts and nine total appearances. He is second on the team with 38 strikeouts in 47.1 innings pitched. He also has one save.
• Taylor Burns is 4-3 with a 3.80 ERA in seven starts and 10 total appearances. He has struck out 33 batters in 47.1 innings of work. Opponents are batting .246 against him.
• Tayler Ross is 2-0 with a 1.85 earned run average in 15 relief appearances. Opponents are batting just .225 against Ross and he's fanned 19 batters in 24.1 innings pitched.
• The Mules have a .965 team fielding percentage. They've turned 31 double plays and committed 45 errors on the season.

Worth Noting
• The Mules have scored at least one run in 141 of 143 games played under head coach Kyle Crookes.
• UCM is 3-0 in extra-inning games this season.

Last time out
EMPORIA, Kan. (April 9, 2017) – Central Missouri built a 6-2 lead midway through the game, but Emporia State rallied late and earned a 9-8 walk-off win in the series finale on Sunday at Glennen Field. The Hornets scored 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth to earn the win.
     The Hornets (27-8, 16-5 MIAA) jumped on top in the second when Taylor Sanagorski hit a two-run home run to right center.
     The Mules (22-11, 13-8 MIAA) tied the game in the top of the third inning on Justin Graff-Rowe's two-run single to center. UCM took the lead in the fourth on Jackson Schnurbusch's leadoff home run.
     Central Missouri extended the lead to 6-2, plating three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Matt Elliott had a two-run single and later scored when Schnurbusch reached on an error by the ESU shortstop.
     The Hornets answered in the home half of the inning scoring three runs on just one hit. They took advantage of two walks, two hit batters and a passed ball on a dropped third strike to get back within one at 6-5.
     John Fairchild led off the top of the sixth with his first home run of the season and the lead was back to two at 7-5. An RBI groundout from Ryan McBroom in the seventh made it a one-run game again at 7-6.
     Travis Able singled home pinch-runner Noah Arni in the top of the eighth to make it 8-6 UCM.
     The Mules took the 8-6 lead to the ninth, but Emporia State opened the inning with six consecutive batters reaching base and scored three runs for the walk-off win.
     Able finished the day 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, while Graff-Rowe and Elliott each went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
     Luke Mercer (2-1) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on four hits in the ninth.
     Nathan Whitcomb (2-1) earned the win for Emporia State after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth.

Mules in the Polls
• Central Missouri dropped out of this week's ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll.
• The Mules fell to No. 8 in the NCBWA's Central Region poll.
• The Mules dropped out of the D2BaseballNews.com poll and fell to No. 18 in the Perfect Game poll.

Mules in non-conference action
• Central Missouri is 9-3 in non-conference action this season after the win over Rockhurst on April 5.
• The Mules are 27-20 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' three seasons.

Mules in MIAA play
• The Mules are 13-8 in MIAA play after dropping two of three games at Emporia State last weekend.
• The Mules finished 32-7 in MIAA play last season and are 68-28 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 8-3 at home this season after the win over Rockhurst.
• UCM went 19-3 in home games last season and is 42-11 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 782-155-1 (.834) in 938 games played in their 42nd season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.

Mules on the road
• The Mules are 8-7 on the road this year after last weekend's series at Emporia State.
• The Mules went 14-5 on the road in 2016 and are 34-25 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.

Three-bagger
• Freshman Erik Webb has four triples this season. 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 95-48 (.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 1,854-734-9 (.716) record in 2,597 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 823-223 (.787) in 1,046 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, April 18 to host Southwest Baptist for a 6 p.m. game at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• UCM will host Northeastern State for a three-game weekend set beginning on Friday, April 21.