First Pitch
• The 19th-ranked Central Missouri Mules head back out on the road for a top-20 matchup against 17th-ranked Emporia State.
• The three-game series gets underway on Friday at 6 p.m. at Glennen Field at the Trusler Sports Complex in Emporia. Saturday's game is slated for a 1 p.m. start with Sunday's finale set for a noon 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
• The Mules and Hornets have met 154 times on the diamond with Central Missouri holding a 106-48 lead in the series.
• The Mules went 3-1 last year against Emporia State. The Mules won two out of three games during the series in Warrensburg, losing the opener 11-4, but rebounding to win the next two 3-2 and 7-5. UCM then beat the Hornets 6-3 in the NCAA Central Regional in St. Cloud, Minn.
• UCM is 3-3 against Emporia State under
Kyle Crookes. This will be the first trip to Emporia for the Mules during Crookes' tenure.
Emporia State
• Emporia State enters the weekend series at 25-7 overall and 14-4 in MIAA play and ranked No. 17 in the latest ABCA poll. The Hornets hold a two-game lead over the Mules at the top of the MIAA standings.
• ESU beat Missouri Western 7-3 on Wednesday night after dropping two of three at Central Oklahoma last weekend.
• The Hornets are led by 14th-year head coach Bob Fornelli. He has compiled a 556-224 record during his tenure with Emporia State and a 854-347 record during his 21 years as a college head coach.
• Emporia State is batting .333 as a team with 64 doubles, 15 triples, 41 home runs and 264 RBI in 32 games.
• Alex White leads the team with a .402 batting average to go along with five doubles and 26 RBI.
• Mason Brown is batting .395 with eight doubles, six home runs and 31 runs batted in.
• BJ Dean leads the team with nine home runs to go along 29 RBI and a .319 average.
• Kaden Shaffer's 33 runs batted in lead the team. He's batting .345 with six home runs as well.
• Nine players are batting .313 or better while five players have at least five home runs and six players have at least 20 runs batted in.
• The ESU pitching staff has a 4.12 earned run average through 32 games and 284.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 217 and walked just 67 during that span while opponents are batting .279 against them.
• Nathan Whitcomb leads the staff with a 0.47 ERA in 16 relief appearances. He's 1-1 and has allowed just one run on 11 hits in 19 innings while registering six of the team's eight saves.
• Tanner Cairns is 4-0 with a 2.64 earned run average in nine appearances and six starts.
• Seth Holman is 6-2 with a 3.74 ERA in nine appearances and eight starts. He leads the team with 39 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched.
• The Hornets sport a .977 team fielding percentage. They've turned 27 double plays and have committed 28 errors on the season.
Central Missouri
• Central Missouri is 21-9 overall and 12-6 in MIAA play after the win over Rockhurst on Wednesday night.
• The Mules are batting .302 as a team with 64 doubles, 17 triples, 30 home runs and 183 RBI.
•
Justin Graff-Rowe is batting a team and MIAA-leading .412 with eight doubles, three triples, two home runs and 24 RBI. He currently sports a .473 on-base percentage.
•
Erik Webb is hitting .351 with 11 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 22 runs batted in.
•
Collin Nevil is hitting .342. He leads the team and is second in the MIAA with 10 home runs. His 31 RBI are second-best on the team.
•
Travis Stroup leads the team with 33 RBI and 12 doubles. He is second on the squad with nine homers while batting .304.
• The pitching staff has a 3.59 earned run average over 263.1 innings pitched. They've struck out 236 and walked 107 over that span. As a staff, the Mules are holding opponents to a .244 batting average.
•
Zach Girrens is 4-0 with a team and MIAA-leading 2.03 ERA in six starts. He leads the team with 36 strikeouts in 31.0 innings pitched and is limiting opponents to a .159 batting average.
•
Steven D'Amico is 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA in six starts and eight total appearances. He is second on the team with 33 strikeouts in 43.0 innings pitched. He also has one save.
•
Taylor Burns is 4-3 with a 3.59 ERA in six starts and nine total appearances. He has struck out 30 batters in 42.2 innings of work. Opponents are batting .241 against him.
•
Andy Muehlberger is 1-1 with a 2.61 earned run average and a team-leading three saves. He's struck out 12 in 10.1 innings of work and has allowed just two hits while holding opponents to a .059 batting average.
•
Tayler Ross is 2-0 with a 2.01 earned run average in 14 relief appearances. Opponents are batting just .213 against Ross and he's fanned 18 batters in 22.1 innings pitched.
• The Mules have a .965 team fielding percentage. They've turned 30 double plays and committed 41 errors on the season.
Worth Noting
• The Mules have scored at least one run in 138 of 140 games played under head coach
Kyle Crookes.
• UCM is 3-0 in extra-inning games this season.
Key Games Ahead
• Two games separate first-place Emporia State (14-4 MIAA) and second place UCM (12-6) as the teams enter this weekend's three-game series.
• Only a game and a half separate the teams from second to seventh place in the league standings.
Last time out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 5, 2017) --
Justin Graff-Rowe had three hits and four RBI and
Stanton Lohrengel picked up his first win of the season as the Mules snapped their three-game skid with an 8-2 win over Rockhurst on Wednesday night at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
   The Hawks (16-13) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on back-to-back RBI singles by Henry Weiler and Alex Van Pelt. The Mules (21-9) took the lead in the home half when
Justin Graff-Rowe hit a laser three-run home run to deep center field.
  Â
Jackson Schnurbusch hit a solo home run in the second to give the Mules a 4-2 lead. It was his second home run in as many games and third of the season. Graff-Rowe had an RBI double in the third and scored on
Cole Distler's single to right field to give the Mules a 6-2 lead.
   Schnurbusch added an RBI triple in the sixth and
Collin Nevil singled in a run in the seventh for the 8-2 advantage.
   That was more than enough for the UCM pitching staff as they limited Rockhurst to the two runs on six hits. Lohrengel (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits over five innings of work to earn his first win at UCM in his first start.
Cory Simpson,
Charlie Skantze,
Ben Kelsch and
Luke Mercer all threw an inning of scoreless relief as well.
   PJ Seufert (1-1) took the loss for Rockhurst after allowing six runs on six hits in 2.2 innings of work.
   Graff-Rowe and Nevil each finished with three hits in the game, while Schnurbusch had two.
Mules in the Polls
• Central Missouri dropped nine spots to No. 19 in this week's ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll.
• The Mules dropped out of the NCBWA national poll and fell to No. 4 in the NCBWA's Central Region poll.
• The Mules dropped five spots to No. 22 in the D2BaseballNews.com poll and one spot 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 12-6 in MIAA play after the loss to Lindenwood on Tuesday afternoon.
• The Mules finished 32-7 in MIAA play last season and are 67-26 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 7-5 on the road this year after the loss at Lindenwood.
• The Mules went 14-5 on the road in 2016 and are 33-23 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 94-46 (.671) 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 1,853-732-9 (.716) record in 2,594 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 822-221 (.788) in 1,043 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 open their midweek series against Southwest Baptist on Wednesday, April 12 in Bolivar. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
• UCM travels to Joplin for a three-game series with Missouri Southern beginning next Thursday, April 13.
