First Pitch
• The Central Missouri Mules open MIAA Tournament play as the No. 4 seed on Thursday night. UCM will take on fifth-seeded Central Oklahoma at 7:30 p.m. at Warren Turner Field on the Missouri Southern campus in Joplin.
• The winner of the MIAA Tournament will earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA-II Central Region Tournament to be held May 18-22 at a campus site to be determined.
Quick Hits
• 2017 marks the 24th straight season that the Mules have won 30 or more games.
• Central Missouri's 43 wins in 2016 were its most since 2012, when it totaled 48.
Mules Baseball on the air
• All of UCM's postseason games can be heard live on 1450 KOKO and warrensburgradio.com.
•
Bob Jackson will be on the call with Dugout Show beginning approximately 25 minutes prior to first pitch.
The Series
• The Mules and Bronchos have met 44 times on the diamond with Central Missouri holding a 27-17 lead in the all-time series.
• The Mules won two of three regular season meetings this year in Warrensburg. UCM won the opener 6-3 and the finale 12-0, while the Bronchos won the middle game 7-3.
• Central Missouri 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 7-4 against UCO under
Kyle Crookes.
Central Oklahoma
• Central Oklahoma enters the MIAA Tournament at 30-17-1 overall. The Bronchos earned the No. 5 seed after going 20-16 during MIAA play in the regular season.
• UCO is batting .305 as a team with 99 doubles, nine triples, 36 home runs and 274 RBI in 48 games. They have a team on-base percentage of .392.
• Jake Dyer leads UCO with a .349 batting average to go along with a team-best 16 doubles. He also has three home runs and has driven in 29 runs.
• Kyle Miskovsky is batting .336 with six homers and 22 RBI.
• Returning All-American Jon Kamies is hitting .321 with 14 doubles, four home runs and a team-leading 39 RBI.
• Korey Floyd leads the team with six home runs and has driven in 27 while batting .303.
• Anthony Alvarez bats .325 with 12 combined extra-base hits and has driven in 27.
• Eight Bronchos are hitting .300 or better with 11 different players hitting long balls and 12 players driving in 12 or more runs.
• The Central Oklahoma pitching staff has a 5.06 earned run average through 48 games and 404.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 334 and walked 198 during that span while opponents are batting .268 against them.
• J.D. Cameron is 5-3 with a 3.40 earned run average in 17 total appearances and five starts.
• Possible game one starter J.J. Rogers is 1-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 10 appearances and eight starts. He has 27 strikeouts in 45.2 innings and opponents are batting .266 against him.
• Holden Capps, who started game one of the series in Warrensburg, is 7-4 with a 4.72 ERA in 13 starts. He leads the pitching staff with 81 strikeouts in 81 innings pitched.
• Tyler Culver picked up the Bronchos' only win over UCM this season in the middle game of the series in Warrensburg. He is 4-1 with a 4.63 ERA in 10 starts. Against UCM, he went 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits to earn the victory.
• Greg Hyde leads the team with 25 relief appearances on the season. He is 3-2 with a 4.40 ERA in 30.2 innings of work. He's struck out 31 and limits opponents to a .254 average.
• Gibson Russ has worked out of the bullpen 23 times this year to the tune of a 4-1 record with a 2.35 ERA and an MIAA-leading 13 saves. He's struck out 34 and walked 12 in 23.0 innings pitched. Opponents are batting just .160 against him. He worked one scoreless inning with one strikeout in the regular season series.
• The Bronchos sport a .970 team fielding percentage. They've turned 44 double plays and have committed 52 errors on the season.
Central Missouri
• Central Missouri is 32-16 overall and finished 23-13 in MIAA play after taking two out of three from Washburn last weekend.
• The Mules are batting .319 as a team with 106 doubles, 25 triples, 53 home runs and 333 RBI.
•
Justin Graff-Rowe won the MIAA regular season batting title with a .418 average. He also has 12 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 44 RBI. He currently sports a .488 on-base percentage.
•
Collin Nevil is hitting .344. He leads the team and is fourth in the MIAA with 13 home runs. His 54 RBI are a team-best and also rank fourth in the conference.
•
Erik Webb is hitting .340 with 15 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 35 runs batted in.
•
John Fairchild is batting .367 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 19 games played.
• Nine Mules are hitting .309 or better and 10 have driven in double digit runs.
• The pitching staff has a 4.21 earned run average over 410.2 innings pitched. They've struck out 360 and walked 187 over that span. As a staff, the Mules are holding opponents to a .252 batting average.
•
Steven D'Amico is 7-1 with a team-leading 2.65 ERA in 11 starts and 13 total appearances. He leads the team with 62 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched. He also has one save and is limiting opponents to a .232 batting average.
•
Zach Girrens is 6-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 11 starts. He has 59 strikeouts in 60.0 innings pitched and is limiting opponents to a .177 batting average.
•
Taylor Burns is 4-3 with a 4.19 ERA in eight starts and 13 total appearances. He has struck out 35 batters in 53.2 innings of work. Opponents are batting .253 against him.
•
Tayler Ross is 2-0 with a 1.78 earned run average in 16 relief appearances. Opponents are batting just .217 against Ross and he's fanned 20 batters in 25.1 innings pitched.
• The Mules have a .967 team fielding percentage. They've turned 45 double plays and committed 60 errors on the season.
Worth Noting
• The Mules have scored at least one run in 156 of 158 games played under head coach
Kyle Crookes.
• UCM is 3-0 in extra-inning games this season.
• The Mules hit .615 (8-for-13) with runners on third and less than two outs in the Washburn series, but .250 overall (10-for-40) with runners in scoring position.
• Central Missouri hit .307 during the three-game series with Central Oklahoma this season, scoring 21 runs. UCM held UCO to a .223 average over the three games and limited the Bronchos to 10 runs.
Last time out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (May 7, 2017)-- Central Missouri put up seven hits, but only scored two runs as they dropped the regular season finale, 9-2, against Washburn on Sunday afternoon at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field. The Mules finish the regular season 32-16 overall and 23-13 in MIAA play.
   The Mules put up one run in the home half of the first inning as
Travis Stroup singled to left field and was brought home off an RBI double to right center field from
Collin Nevil. UCM never led the rest of the game.
   The top of the second inning was the back breaker for the Mules as they gave up seven runs to the Ichabods (21-28, 12-24 MIAA). Washburn benefited from a string of walks, wild pitches, a few hit by pitches, and a throwing error from the Mules to score seven of their nine runs in the second inning. The only hit in the inning came from Josh Crosby as he singled to right center field to plate in Riley Krane.
   UCM's offensive struggles continued in the home half of the second inning as they could not get the bats going. The Ichabods added one run in the top of the third as Cole Gardner hit a single through the left side then stole second base. After a hit by pitch from the Mules, Gardner stole third and was plated in from a sacrifice fly by Darian Abram to make it 8-1, Washburn.
   The Mules went hitless in the home half of the third inning, but worked a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth as
JJ Benes got all three batters out swinging. UCM got a hit in the bottom of the fourth as
Matt Elliott singled to second base, but could not build from it.
   Washburn scored its final run in the top of the fifth. JB Eary was walked and a double down the left line line by Landon Hay got him to third. Abram provided another sacrifice fly to score Eary and give Washburn a 9-1 lead.
   The Mules second run came in the bottom of the sixth as Stroup hit a solo home run to right field. He finished the day 2-for-4 to lead the Mules.
   Josh Ramirez (4-3) picked up the win for Washburn as he pitched seven complete innings, giving up just five hits and two runs.
   Starter
Stanton Lohrengel (3-2) took the loss for the Mules after giving up six runs and one hit in 1.1 innings of work.
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 finished the regular season 23-13 and in fourth place in MIAA play.
• The Mules finished 32-7 in MIAA play last season and are 78-33 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 were 14-4 at home this season after taking two out of three from Washburn.
• UCM went 19-3 in home games last season and is 48-12 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 788-156-1 (.834) in 945 games played in their 42nd season playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Mules on the road
• The Mules are 12-11 on the road this year after three losses 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.
Mules in NCAA Regional Rankings
• Central Missouri stayed put at No. 6 in this week's NCAA-II Central Region Rankings.
• The top eight teams in the final rankings on Sunday, May 14 earn bids to the NCAA-II Central Region Tournament at a campus site to be determined.
UCM during the Crookes era
•
Kyle Crookes has a 105-53 (.665) 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 1,864-739-9 (.715) record in 2,612 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 24 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 833-228 (.785) in 1,061 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
• A win over Central Oklahoma would advance the Mules to a winner's bracket game against the winner of No. 1 seed Emporia State or No. 8 Missouri Southern on Friday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m.
• A loss to UCO would drop the Mules into an elimination game against the loser of Emporia State and Missouri Southern on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
