Mules return home to host Washburn in final regular season series

First Pitch
• The Central Missouri Mules return home to wrap up the regular season hosting Washburn in a three-game series.
• The series gets underway on Friday night at 6 p.m. with Saturday's game slated for a 5 p.m. first pitch and Sunday set for a 1 p.m. start.

Special Events
• Friday night's game is Military Appreciation Day with all active and retired military members and their families gaining free admission to the game.
• Saturday is Senior Day with the Mules' 12 seniors being honored in a pregame ceremony.

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.

The Series
• Central Missouri and Washburn have met 101 times on the diamond with the Mules holding an 80-21 lead in the series.
• The Mules were 4-1 against the Ichabods last season. UCM swept a three-game series in Topeka by scores of 3-2, 8-4 and 10-3. WU beat UCM 2-1 in 11 innings in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals, but the Mules rebounded to eliminate the 'Bods with a 16-8 win in the bracket final.
• UCM is 7-3 against the Ichabods under Crookes.

Washburn
• Washburn enters the series at 20-26 overall and 11-22 in MIAA play after being swept at Central Oklahoma last weekend. The Ichabods have lost four straight games and 14 of their last 15 games, including 13 consecutive MIAA games.
• WU is batting .259 as a team with 67 doubles, 16 triples, 30 home runs and 215 RBI in 46 games.
• Riley Krane leads the team with a .332 batting average, 13 home runs, and 50 RBI. He's slugging .626 and has scored a team-high 44 runs as well.
• Tanner Triggs is batting .303 with 19 driven in.
• Josh Crosby is tied for the team-lead with Bowe Behymer with 12 doubles on the year. Crosby is batting .291 with a pair of home runs and 21 RBI.
• The Washburn pitching staff has a 5.41 earned run average through 46 games and 399.0 innings pitched. They've struck out 279 and walked 181 during that span while opponents are batting .280 against them.
• Lance Barkley is 5-2 with a 3.49 earned run average in 10 starts.
• Reigning MIAA Pitcher of the Year, Nick Silva is 3-7 with a 5.17 ERA in 13 starts. He leads the staff with 48 strikeouts in 69.2 innings pitched.
• Marcus McKinney leads the staff with eight saves in 14 relief appearances. He's fanned 12 in 12.2 innings of work.
• Jacob Head is 4-2 with a 3.86 earned run average in eight starts. He is limiting opponents to a .215 batting average over 46.2 innings pitched.
• The Ichabods sport a .962 team fielding percentage. They've turned 28 double plays and have committed 64 errors on the season.

Central Missouri
• Central Missouri is 30-15 overall and 21-12 in MIAA play after being swept at Missouri Western last weekend.
• The Mules are batting .320 as a team with 100 doubles, 25 triples, 49 home runs and 311 RBI.
• Justin Graff-Rowe is batting a team and MIAA-leading .432 with 12 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 43 RBI. He currently sports a .503 on-base percentage, second best in the league.
• Collin Nevil is hitting .350. He leads the team and is tied for the MIAA lead with 13 home runs. His 53 RBI are also a team-best and rank third in the conference.
• Jackson Schnurbusch is batting .336 with a career-high seven home runs and 29 RBI.
• Erik Webb is hitting .333 with 14 doubles, five triples, three home runs and 30 runs batted in.
• John Fairchild is batting .378 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 17 games played.
• Nine Mules are hitting .303 or better and 10 have driven in double digit runs.
• The pitching staff has a 4.14 earned run average over 384.2 innings pitched. They've struck out 342 and walked 172 over that span. As a staff, the Mules are holding opponents to a .254 batting average.
• Steven D'Amico is 6-1 with an MIAA-best 2.20 ERA in 10 starts and 12 total appearances. He leads the team with 57 strikeouts in 65.1 innings pitched. He also has one save and is limiting opponents to a .229 batting average.
• Zach Girrens is 5-0 with a 2.85 ERA in 10 starts. He has 56 strikeouts in 53.2 innings pitched and is limiting opponents to a .176 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 .968 team fielding percentage. They've turned 43 double plays and committed 54 errors on the season.

Worth Noting
• The Mules have scored at least one run in 153 of 155 games played under head coach Kyle Crookes.
• UCM is 3-0 in extra-inning games this season.

Last time out
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (April 28, 2017) – Missouri Western rallied from a 7-2 deficit in game one and then ran away from the Mules in game two to sweep a doubleheader on Friday. The Griffons won the opener 8-7 and took the nightcap 9-3 to sweep the doubleheader and the series.
Game 1 Recap
    The Griffons (28-18, 25-11 MIAA) struck first, plating a run in the bottom of the first on Levi Schreiner's RBI double. Dusty Stroup, the younger brother of the Mules' Travis Stroup added an RBI single in the third and Missouri Western led 2-0.
    The Mules (30-15, 21-12 MIAA) got on the board with four runs in the top of the fifth to take a 4-2 lead. Travis Able singled with one out, went to third on a single and scored on a wild pitch to get UCM on the board. Following a walk to Stroup, Collin Nevil belted a three-run home run to right center to put the Mules in front. It was his second homer in as many days and tied him for the league lead with 13.
    Central Missouri added three more runs in the top of the sixth to take a 7-2 lead. John Fairchild scored on Miles Orscheln's RBI fielder's choice and Stroup added a two-run double.
    The Griffons came right back in the home half scoring four runs to pull within a run at 7-6. The first three batters reached to load the bases and Andrew Curry cleared them with a double to pull Missouri Western within 7-5 and Schreiner added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to score Curry.
    Curry put the Griffs back in front 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out, two-run home run.
    That lead stood to the ninth when the Mules got two runners on with one out, but were they were unable to push across any runs to tie the game and the Griffons won the opener.
    Stanton Lohrengel (3-1) suffered the loss in relief for the Mules, giving up two runs on two hits in two innings of work.
    Jared Lloyd (4-0) earned the win for Missouri Western, while Zach Cross picked up the save after retiring the final two batters.
Game 2 Recap
    The Mules jumped on top in the first inning on Nevil's RBI infield single that scored Matt Elliott. The lead didn't last, however, as the Griffons got a two-out single and then RBI triple from Dusty Stroup to tie the game after one.
    Missouri Western broke into the lead with four runs in the second inning. Jeremy Alvarado had an RBI infield single to break the 1-1 tie and put the Griffs in front. Nick Gawley had a two-run single and Dusty Stroup added an RBI single to make it 5-1. MWSU added another run in the third when Bailey Zimmer scored on a wild pitch to lead 6-1.
    Justin Graff-Rowe led off the top of the fourth with a hit by pitch, stole second, and scored on Jackson Schnurbusch's single to right to make it 6-2. The Mules got to within 6-3 in the seventh on Travis Able's RBI single, but they would get no closer.
    The Griffons tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Stroup had a two-run single and Logan Marston drew a bases-loaded walk to give MWSU a 9-3 lead.
    Nate Hunter (7-2) picked up a complete-game win for the Griffons allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out 11.
    Ross Juliana (2-1) took the loss for UCM after giving up six runs on nine hits in 2.1 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 are 21-12 in MIAA play after being swept at Missouri Western last weekend.
• The Mules finished 32-7 in MIAA play last season and are 76-32 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 12-3 at home this season after the sweep of Northeastern State.
• UCM went 19-3 in home games last season and is 46-11 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 786-155-1 (.835) in 942 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 was ranked 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 103-52 (.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 1,862-738-9 (.715) record in 2,609 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 831-227 (.785) in 1,058 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 head to Joplin next weekend, May 11-14 for the MIAA Tournament. UCM's seed and opponent are still to be determined.