Mules Return Home for Three-Game Series With PSU

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 16, 2018) - No. 5 Central Missouri Mules Baseball returns home this weekend after playing their last eight games on the road. The Mules went 7-1 in that span with all seven wins coming in a row. They return home for a three-game series against a tough MIAA opponent.

Opponent: Pittsburg State Gorillas (15-6, 7-2 MIAA)

When: Saturday, March 17, 1 p.m. (DH)
            Sunday, March 18, 1 p.m.

Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field

On the Air
• All three games will be on 98.5 The Bar, 1450 KOKO and warrensburgradio.com as a part of the Central Missouri Sports Radio Network.
• Bob Jackson will be on the call with the Mules' Dugout Show approximately 25 minutes prior to first pitch.

First Pitch
• Central Missouri picked up its seventh straight win after defeating Rockhurst on the road this Tuesday. 
• The Mules wrapped up their eight-game road stint with a midweek win at Rockhurst, 12-4. They went 7-1 in the span with all seven wins coming in a row. 
• With the midweek win at Rockhurst, UCM is now winners in 16 of its last 17 games, including seven straight.
• This will be the fourth three-game MIAA series for the Mules and just their second at home. The Mules have claimed every MIAA series this season so far.

Quick Hits
• Central Missouri was picked to finish second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Central Missouri totaled 32 wins last year. The Mules have won at least 30 games in all three seasons under Coach Crookes.
• The Mules have finished with a winning record in each of the last 32 seasons. 
• The Mules are undefeated at 9-0 at home in 2018. They were 14-4 at home in 2017. 

The Series
• Central Missouri has a commanding 71-13 series lead over Pittsburg State all-time. The Mules have won their last 24 home games against the Gorillas. UCM last fell to Pittsburg State at home on April 21, 2004 by a final score of 4-3.
• UCM is 5-1 against the Gorillas under Coach Crookes. The Mules claimed the series against Pittsburg State on the road last season. The Gorillas took game two 13-6, but the Mules picked up wins in game one, 7-4, and game two, 7-5. In the 2016 season, UCM swept the series winning 2-1, 8-0 and 12-1, respectively. The two teams did not face each other in Crookes' first year as head coach in 2015.

Pittsburg State
• Pittsburg State enters the game with a 15-6 overall record, with a 7-2 mark in MIAA play and sit third in the standings. The Gorillas are coming off a 2-1 MIAA series win over Emporia State.
• The Gorillas have claimed all of their MIAA series so far this season. They swept Fort Hays State, and have 2-1 series wins over Lindenwood and most recently Emporia State.
• Pittsburg State's three-game series at UCM is the first of seven straight games on the road. Pittsburg State is coming off a 15 game home stint where the team went 12-3 in that span.
• The Gorillas are the top hitting team in the MIAA with a .344 batting average. They are eighth in home runs with 16. They also lead the league in on base percentage at .427.
• They are fourth in the league in runs scored with 170, while their 232 hits are third.
• The Gorillas have two batters batting over .400 and are in top-10 in the MIAA. Colton Pogue leads the team and is fifth in the league with .425 average. Two spots back at seventh and second on the team is Reece Garvie with a .417 average. Pogue leads the MIAA in runs scored with 28, while his 34 hits are third. 
• One thing the Gorillas do well is bunt. They have four plays in the top-10 in the MIAA in sacrifice bunts. Joven Afenir leads the way with eight. At second is Hunter Clanin with six. Andrew Vogelbaugh and Cody White each have four and are tied for fifth in the MIAA.
• Six other players are batting over .300 for the Gorillas as well. Dallas Reed is third on the team at .366. Tyson Cushman sports a .341 average in 14 games played. Clanin (.329), White (.328), Vogelbaugh (.324), and Josh Whisler (.319) round out the .300 hit club for Pittsburg State.
• On the mound, the Gorillas sport a 5.15 ERA, which is eighth in the MIAA. They've given up 173 hits and have allowed 13 home runs.
• Brad Kinsey has the team's best ERA at 1.42 in three game appearances with one start. He is 2-0 on the year with 6.1 innings pitched and has 11 strikeouts. Brendan Stanek and Cody Whiting have made the most starts at six apiece. Stanek has 4.31 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched, with a 2-3 record. He's allowed a team-high 36 hits and has struck out 19 batters. Whiting has a 5.43 ERA in 30.1 innings pitched and has a 3-0 record. He leads the team with 36 strikeouts and has given up 28 hits.
• Cody White and Nick Brown have made the most appearances on the hill for Pittsburg State, with eight apiece. White has a 2.16 ERA, with 13 strikeouts in 8.1 innings pitched. Brown sports a 3.48 ERA and has struck out 22 batters.
• Pittsburg State sports a .969 fielding percentage which is tied for second in the MIAA and they have the second least amount of errors with 23. They have turned 14 double plays this season which is tied for sixth in the league.

The Mules
• Central Missouri is 17-3 overall with 6-1 mark in MIAA play. UCM is winners in 16 of its last 17 games, including seven straight wins. They are ranked No. 5 in the latest NCBWA Top-25 rankings.
• The Mules claimed their third straight MIAA series with sweep of Fort Hays State. The Mules scored 10-plus runs in every game as they won 13-8, 12-6 and 11-6 over the Tigers.
• Central Missouri continues to hit the ball extremely. They've scored at least 10 runs in four straight games, including five of its last six games. Their 36 runs scored against FHSU are the most runs they have scored in a three game series against one opponent this season.
• As a team, the Mules have a .336 batting average, which is second in the MIAA. UCM is holding teams to a .331 on base percentage and is averaging almost nine runs per game at 8.7. 
• The Mules bullpen has been outstanding this season. While Mules pitchers have a 4.24 ERA this season to sit fourth in the MIAA, the bullpen ERA is 3.17. Luke Mercer has four saves in the Mules 17 wins and has 15 strikeouts in 10.0 innings. Coby Seiz has gotten the most work out of the pen. He's thrown 14.0 innings giving up just three earned runs and 11 hits with 10 strikeouts. He has two saves and sports a 1.93 ERA. Ross Juliana has been solid as well with a 3-0 record out of the bullpen. He's also fanned 13 batters in 12.0 innings pitched and allowed just one run. 
• Much of the Mules success can be attributed to the bottom of the lineup. Harrison Schnurbusch who has batted seventh in nine games this season, is hitting .324 and has scored 12 runs. The combination of Dalton Dull and Donovan Ditto has 18 hits from the No. 9 spot in the lineup. In 26 at bats overall, Dull is hitting .462 with a .500 on base percentage. 
• At the top of the order, Mason Janvrin and Erik Webb have a combined 54 hits and 39 RBI. Both have multiple home runs on the year. Webb has 14 extra base hits and is second on the team in RBI with 21.
• In 172 innings pitched, Mules pitchers are giving up just one hit per inning. Opponents are hitting just .246 off of UCM pitchers, but have reached base in other ways with 63 walks and have reached on 32 errors and 22 hit batsmen.
• UCM pitchers have also done well at holding runners on base. The Mules have given up just six stolen bases in 20 games on 13 attempts and have picked a runner off.
• On the flip side, the Mules have stolen 48 bases in 67 attempts themselves. Janvrin has a team-best 16 stolen bases while Webb is second with nine. Harrison Schnurbusch has added seven.
• Five Mules this season are hitting at least .300. Travis Able (.446) and Erik Webb (.412) are hitting over .400, with Able's average ranking second in the MIAA. Janvrin is at .351, while Collin Nevil is at .329. Schnurbusch is hitting .318 and Justin Graff-Rowe is at a .309 batting average. Nevil leads the team in RBI with 22, while Janvrin is third at 18 RBI. Able (17), Schnurbusch (11) Payne McCutcheon (12), Graff-Rowe (10), and John Fairchild (10) each have at least 10 RBI.
• The Mules have hit 22 home runs from 10 different players. Nevil, Webb, Janvrin, McCutcheon and Fairchild have all slugged at least two home runs this season. Nevil and Webb lead the way with five apiece.

Last Time Out
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 13, 2018) - No. 7 Central Missouri Mules Baseball had no problem putting up at least 10 runs as they totaled a dozen in their 12-4 road victory over the Rockhurst Hawks Tuesday afternoon at Loyola Park. The Mules tallied a season-high 22 hits in their win as they scored at least 10 runs for the fourth straight game.

Play-by-Play
• The top of the order had a great start for UCM (17-3) as the first four batters all had base hits to start the game.
• Singles from Erik Webb and Mason Janvrin got things started. They were immediately plated home off a two RBI single from Travis Able to make it a 2-0 lead.
• The Hawks (4-7) found themselves down 4-0 after one inning when Collin Nevil nailed a two run homer to right field.
• Luke Lucas got the starting nod on the mound for UCM and was solid the all afternoon pitching a complete game. He forced three straight ground outs to start the game and the Mules led 4-0 after one.
• Janvrin led off the second with double to left center. Able got him home with a single to right field and it was a 5-0 lead for UCM 1.5 innings of play.
• Rockhurst got its first run in the bottom of the second after a single Jeremy Lufft and back-to-back UCM errors helped him score.
• The Hawks then added two runs in the bottom of the third to cut the Mules lead to  5-3.
• Garrett McNally singled to left center to leadoff the bottom of the third. A throwing error from Lucas got him to second on a failed pickoff and he was then plated home thanks to back-to-back singles.
• The third Rockhurst run came after Lufft struck out swinging but a passed ball on the strike out brought in an unearned run.
• The Mules pushed their lead back to three runs, 6-3, in the top of the fourth. Donovan Ditto hit a leadoff single and Janvrin scored him with an RBI double to right center.
• UCM held Rockhurst without a run in the fourth and fifth inning. It became a 8-3 UCM lead after five when a one-out bases loaded single from Cole Hoover scored one run. 
• The Mules had the bases loaded after Hoover's single, but the Hawks escaped the jam with a foul out and pop up to first base.
• Two more run in the sixth gave UCM a commanding 9-3 lead. After Able got on base from a fielder's choice, Nevil singled and Justin Graff-Rowe was hit by pitch to load the bases. Entering as a pinch hitter, John Fairchild scored Nevil and Able on the very first pitch with a two RBI single to left center.
• The Hawks fourth and final run came in the bottom of the sixth. Corbin Hare singled down the left field line and a throwing error from UCM got him to second. Cameron Dean scored him with a RBI single up the middle.
• UCM's final three runs came in the eighth. Nevil got on base from a fielder's choice and advanced to third on a single from Graff-Rowe. After a Rockhurst pitching change, a passed ball help score Nevil and get Graff-Rowe to third.
• Fairchild scored Graff-Rowe on a base hit to second base following the passed ball. Hoover then singled through the left side and Ditto followed him up with an RBI double to right center to score Fairchild for the final run.
• Lucas gave up just two hits in the final two innings as the Mules held on for the eight-run road win.

Mules Stat Leaders
• Able had a solid game as he produced four hits in six at bats. He had three RBI and three runs scored.
• Also tallying four hits in six at bats was Janvrin. He had a game-high three doubles on his four hits, with an RBI and two runs scored.
• Nevil went 3-6, with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI.
• Hoover finished 3-5, with an RBI and a double.
• Lucas picked up the win on the mound (1-0). He struck out four batters in his complete game and gave up four runs, with just two being earned, on 11 hits.

For the Hawks
• Dean went 2-4 and had one RBI.
• Hare also finished 2-4, with a run scored. 
• Nic Mertes had two hits in five at bats, with a run scored.
• PJ Seufert suffered the loss to fall to 0-2. He gave up six runs, all earned, on nine hits in 3.1 innings pitched and had just one strikeout.

News and Notes
• The Mules went 7-1 in their eight game road trip, with all seven wins coming in a row.
• UCM has scored at least 10 runs in nine games this season, including its last four. UCM is undefeated in all nine games when scoring 10 or more runs.
• The Mules 22 hits eclipses their previous season high of 19 which they accomplished twice. Their 46 at bats against the Hawks is also a season-high.
• UCM is now 41-8 all-time against Rockhurst and winners of the last two games. Under Kyle Crookes the Mules are now 2-1 against the Hawks.

Up Next
• The Mules return home this weekend, March 16-18, for a three-game MIAA series against Pittsburg State. Game one start time is set for 2 p.m. on Friday, March 16 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.

Mules in the Polls
• The Mules moved up two spots to No. 5 in the latest NCBWA National Poll. They were No. 7 last week.
• Central Missouri has been ranked in the last three NCBWA polls after starting the season unranked.
• The Mules checked in at No. 24 in the latest ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Poll. UCM was 28th in the first regular season poll. 
• UCM is ranked No. 20 in this week's edition of Perfect Game Baseball Division II Rankings. The Mules were unranked the previous three polls.

Mules in Non-Conference Action
• Central Missouri went 9-5 in non-conference games during the 2017 season
• The Mules are 35-24 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' three seasons.
• UCM went 9-2 in non-conference games. They do not have a scheduled non-conference game for the rest of the regular season.

Mules in MIAA Play
• The Mules finished 23-13 in MIAA play last season and are 86-34 in conference play under Kyle Crookes.
• The Mules finished fourth in the regular season standings in 2017. They have won 25 overall regular season championships in program history.
• Central Missouri is 8-1 in conference play after sweeping Fort Hays State this past weekend.

Mules at Home
• The Mules went 14-4 in home games during the 2017 season and have started out 9-0 in 2018. 
• Central Missouri was 15-5 at home during the 2015 season and is 57-12 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 797-156-1 (.836) in 954 games played in 42 seasons playing home games at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
• Central Missouri will host the 2018 MIAA Baseball Championship Tournament at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field this May. 

Mules on the Road
• The Mules went 12-11 on the road in 2017. 
• The Mules are 46-31 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes.
• Central Missouri is 7-1 in true road games this season after defeating Rockhurst this past Tuesday, 12-4.

Mules in Neutral Site Games
• UCM has started 1-2 in neutral site games following the Houston Winter Invitational. 
• The Mules are 22-16 in neutral site games under Crookes.
• Central Missouri does not have a scheduled neutral site game for the rest of the regular season.

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 122-58 (.678) record now in his fourth season as head coach at Central Missouri.
• In 2016, he won his first conference championship as head coach at UCM and the second title overall during his time in Warrensburg.
• During his first three seasons at the helm, 30 players have earned All-MIAA honors, including seven First Team nods. Seven players have earned All-Region honors, one All-American 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 2018 season marks the 63rd in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 1,881-744-9 (.716) record in 2,634 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 of the last 24 years)
• 25 MIAA Titles (17 of the last 24)
• 21 MIAA Tournament Titles (17 of the last 24)
• 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 850-233 (.792) since the year 2000. An average of 46 wins per season over the last 18 years.

A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics
• Central Missouri has won a combined 214 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• This past fall, Central Missouri women's soccer won their first NCAA Division II National Championship with a 1-1 (5-3 PK) win over Carson-Newman. 
• Central Missouri Jennies Basketball captured their 11th MIAA regular season championship and seventh Central Region crown this season. 
• Last season, UCM captured three MIAA regular season titles, one MIAA Tournament crown and two NCAA Regional Championships.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 160 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won nine 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, women's indoor and outdoor track & field in 2015, and women's soccer in 2017) and 11 national championships overall.
• In 2016-17, Central Missouri won the inaugural MIAA's Commissioner's Cup trophy for the conference's top overall athletic department. 

A Tradition of Excellence in the Classroom
• Central Missouri had 252 student-athletes named to the 2016-17 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 22 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.
• 20 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had five student-athletes earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in their respective sports. 
• All-time UCM is fourth in NCAA-II with 103 Academic All-Americans.
• Carly Thomas of Jennies Bowling was awarded prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships last year.

Upcoming
• The Mules will hit the road again, this time for a four game stint. They will take on Lindenwood on Tuesday, March 20 for a midweek matchup, and then will be at Central Oklahoma for a three-game series. The series with the Bronchos will be Friday-Sunday, March 23-25.