First Pitch
• The Central Missouri Mules return home for four straight games this week.
• The Mules host Southwest Baptist on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the second of three mid-week meetings. UCM will host Northeastern State for a three-game series beginning on Friday.
• The series opener vs. NSU starts at 6 p.m. with Saturday's game slated to start at 2 p.m. and Sunday's series 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 113 times on the diamond with the Mules holding a 100-12-1 lead in the series.
• The Mules won the first meeting of the season, 13-1, last week in Bolivar and won all three games last season; 5-1 and 12-10 in Warrensburg, and 9-0 in Bolivar.
• UCM is 6-2 against SBU under Kyle Crookes.
• UCM and Northeastern State have met 28 times with the Mules holding a 19-9 edge in that series.
• The RiverHawks won two of three meetings between the two schools last year in Tahlequah. The Mules won the opener 10-8, but NSU won the final two games of the series by scores of 9-7 and 10-6.
• UCM is 5-2 against the RiverHawks under Crookes.

Southwest Baptist
• Southwest Baptist enters the midweek matchup at 27-11 overall and 17-8 in MIAA play after sweeping Northwest Missouri over the weekend.
• SBU is batting .335 as a team with 79 doubles, 15 triples, 33 home runs and 274 RBI in 38 games.
• Andrew Meier leads the team with a .429 batting average in 29 games played. He also has seven doubles, two homers and 21 RBI.
• Hunter Hisky is hitting .392 with a team-best 17 doubles and four triples. He also has six home runs and leads the team with 47 RBI.
• Jovany Urbieta has six homers and also has 38 RBI while hitting .375.
• Nelson Muniz leads the team with seven home runs to go along with a .291 batting average and 36 RBI.
• Seven Bearcats hit .309 or better and 10 players have driven in double figure runs.
• The Bearcat pitching staff has a 6.02 earned run average through 38 games and 326.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 226 and walked 145 during that span while opponents are batting .313 against them.
• Chance Wolfe is 5-1 with a 3.06 ERA and seven saves in 17 relief appearances.
• Drew Wagner is 5-0 with a 3.68 earned run average in 15 appearances and seven starts. He leads the staff with 40 strikeouts in 51.1 innings of work.
• Brian Womack is 8-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 11 appearances and 10 starts.
• SBU sports a .962 team fielding percentage. They've turned 29 double plays and have committed 55 errors on the season.

Northeastern State
• Northeastern State enters the week at 19-17 overall and 13-12 in MIAA play after being swept by Emporia State last weekend.
• The RiverHawks will play at Central Oklahoma on Tuesday before coming to Warrensburg for the weekend series.
• NSU is batting .274 as a team with 61 doubles, four triples, 37 home runs and 223 RBI in 36 games.
• Dakota Woods leads the team with a .344 batting average. He is second on the team with eight doubles and has 24 RBI, one of nine RiverHawks with double-digit runs batted in.
• Butch Rea is batting .307 with five doubles, seven home runs and 31 RBI.
• Jordan Payne leads the team with 11 home runs, to go along with a .250 batting average and a team-best 31 RBI.
• Five RiverHawks are batting .303 or batter with 10 players having hit home runs.
• The NSU pitching staff has a 4.91 earned run average through 36 games and 310 innings pitched. They've struck out 248 and walked 151 during that span while opponents are batting .291 against them.
• Nolan Sturgeon is 4-1 with a 3.42 earned run average in eight starts and 10 total appearances.
• Zach Parish is 4-3 with a 4.18 ERA in nine starts and 11 appearances. He is second on the team with 45 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched.
• Hunter Neal is 4-3 with a 4.92 ERA in 10 starts. He leads the staff with 48 punchouts in 60.1 innings pitched.
• Dustin Berrong is 3-3 with a 3.68 ERA and three saves in 16 appearances.
• The RiverHawks sport a .966 team fielding percentage. They've turned 33 double plays and have committed 45 errors on the season.

Central Missouri
• Central Missouri is 25-12 overall and 16-9 in MIAA play after taking two out of three games at Missouri Southern over the weekend.
• The Mules are batting .320 as a team with 80 doubles, 21 triples, 39 home runs and 247 RBI.
• Justin Graff-Rowe is batting a team and MIAA-leading .430 with nine doubles, three triples, four home runs and 36 RBI. He currently sports a .494 on-base percentage, second best in the league.
• Collin Nevil is hitting .368. He leads the team and the MIAA with 11 home runs. His 43 RBI are also a team-best and rank sixth in the conference.
• Erik Webb is hitting .339 with 13 doubles, five triples, three home runs and 27 runs batted in.
• Eight Mules are hitting .308 or better and have have driven in at least 12 runs.
• The pitching staff has a 3.83 earned run average over 319.2 innings pitched. They've struck out 282 and walked 143 over that span. As a staff, the Mules are holding opponents to a .246 batting average.
• Steven D'Amico is 5-1 with an MIAA-best 2.32 ERA in eight starts and 10 total appearances. He leads the team with 46 strikeouts in 54.1 innings pitched. He also has one save and is limiting opponents to a .239 batting average.
• Zach Girrens is 4-0 with a 3.40 ERA in eight starts. He has 43 strikeouts in 39.2 innings pitched and is limiting opponents to a .188 batting average.
• Taylor Burns is 4-3 with a 4.09 ERA in eight starts and 11 total appearances. He has struck out 34 batters in 50.2 innings of work. Opponents are batting .247 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 .966 team fielding percentage. They've turned 37 double plays and committed 48 errors on the season.

Worth Noting
• The Mules have scored at least one run in 145 of 147 games played under head coach Kyle Crookes.
• UCM is 3-0 in extra-inning games this season.

Last time out
JOPLIN, Mo. (April 15, 2017) – Central Missouri out-hit Missouri Southern 8-6, but four of the six hits for the Lions were home runs as they rallied to win the series finale 9-7 on Saturday afternoon. UCM led 7-3 after the top of the sixth before MSSU rallied.
    The Mules (25-12, 16-9 MIAA) jumped on the board first on Travis Stroup's solo home run in the top of the first inning. It was his 10th home run of the season.
    The Lions (21-21, 13-15 MIAA) took the lead in the home half of the second inning. Cory Canterbury led off the inning with a home run to tie the game and Joe Paulino's two-run shot gave MSSU a 3-1 lead.
    The Mules exploded for six runs in the sixth to take a 7-3 lead. Justin Graff-Rowe's RBI groundout started the scoring and Matt Elliott's RBI single tied the game at 3-3. With the bases loaded and two outs a wild pitch on strike three to Blake Wilfong allowed him to reach first and keep the inning alive, Elliott scored on the play to put UCM in front 4-3. Travis Able then cleared the bases with a three-run double to right center.
    The Lions benefited from a wild pitch on strike three in their half of the sixth to keep the inning alive and Mike Million hit a two-run home run to pull MSSU within 7-5. Missouri Southern plated two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 7-all. The first run came home on a wild pitch and Million added a sacrifice fly after an error to plate an unearned run.
    The Lions regained the lead for good, 9-7, in the bottom of the eighth inning on Max Hogan's two-run home run to right field.
    Luke Mercer (2-2) took the loss for UCM after giving up three runs on one hit over two innings of relief.
    Cody Smith (6-4) tossed 3.1 innings of two-hit relief to earn the win for Missouri Southern. He struck out five.
    Able finished the day 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI, while Collin Nevil had three hits.

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 16-9 in MIAA play after taking two out of three games at Missouri Southern over the weekend.
• The Mules finished 32-7 in MIAA play last season and are 71-29 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 11-8 on the road this year after three wins in four road games last week.
• The Mules went 14-5 on the road in 2016 and are 37-26 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 five triples this season. He is two 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 98-49 (.667) 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 1,857-735-9 (.716) record in 2,601 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 826-224 (.787) in 1,050 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 wrap up the season series with Southwest Baptist next Wednesday, April 26 at 2:30 p.m. in Bolivar.
• UCM plays its final road series of the regular season next weekend at Missouri Western. The three-game set gets undeway on Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. in St. Joseph.