Opponent: Missouri Southern Lions (23-21, 11-19 MIAA)

When: Friday, April 27 - 6 p.m.
            Saturday, April 28 - 2 p.m. (Senior Day)
            Sunday, April 29 - 1 p.m.

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

First Pitch
• Central Missouri hosts their final three home games of the regular season this weekend as they take on Missouri Southern.
• The Mules are 18-3 at home this season following an 8-0 shutout win over Southwest Baptist this past Tuesday.
• Saturday's game against the Lions will be Senior Day. At the conclusion of the game, the Mules will honor their 12 seniors.
• The Mules will close out the regular season on the road with a three-game set at Northeastern State, May 4-6.

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 four seasons under Coach Crookes. 2018 also marks the 25th straight season UCM has won 30 or more games.
• The Mules have finished with a winning record in each of the last 32 seasons. 
• The Mules are 21-9 in MIAA play and are first in the conference standings. 

On the Air
• All three games will be on 98.5 The Bar 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.
• Games one and two will also be webcast online through the MIAA's Blue Frame portal at http://www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules/.

The Series
• The Mules have played the Lions 101 times and are 79-22 against them all-time. 
• Central Missouri is winners of the last two series against Missouri Southern, winning both 2-1.
• Kyle Crookes is 6-4 against the Lions as the Mules head coach. He was 2-2 against them in his first year, but has defeated them 2-1 each of the last two seasons.

Missouri Southern
• Missouri Southern enters the weekend series with the Mules with 23-21 overall record and an 11-19 mark in MIAA play.
• The Lions dropped a midweek game this past Tuesday to Pittsburg State, 7-4, and were swept by Northwest Missouri this past weekend. They are currently on a seven-game losing streak
• Despite the Lions struggles defensively, they are pretty consistent pitching wise. On the mound, they sport the second best ERA in the MIAA behind UCM at 4.46. Zac Shoemaker and Corbin Osburn have been the top two pitchers this season. Shoemakers has a 3.96 ERA and is 4-3 on the year to lead the way. Osburn is also 4-3 this year, with a 4.18 ERA. Both have appeared in 11 games, but Osburn has started all 11 and has a complete game. Osburn has the worked 71 innings and totaled 71 strikeouts. Shoemaker has 63.2 innings pitched under his belt and has fanned 56 batters. 
• Offensively, MSSU is the worst hitting team in the MIAA. They are batting .261, with 381 total hits and a .365 on base percentage. They are sixth in the league in home runs with 40. Cory Canterbury is the team's top hitter with a .347 batting average and 35 runs batted in. Alex Phillips has 38 RBI and nine homers to lead the team. Johnny Balsamo leads the team in stolen bases and is second in the MIAA with 23.
• The Lions have a .406 slugging percentage which third worst (11th) in the league. Phillips and Canterbury have the top slugging percentages at .585 and .576, respectively. Of their 381 hits, 125 are for extra bases. 
• Including Meier, five players are batting over .300 for the Bearcats. Meier leads the way, but has played in 11 fewer games for SBU at 32. Phillips also joins Canterbury as the only other player batting over .300 at .340 and has a .468 on base percentage.
• Brennon Covington leads the team with four saves in 15 appearances on the hill. He is 1-0 and sports a 4.91 ERA. He has 19 strikeouts in 14.2 innings pitched. Logan VanWey has teh second most saves with three. He is 1-2 this season and has a 2.25 ERA out of the bullpen. His appearances (16) and ERA lead the bullpen.
• Defensively, the Lions sport a .965 fielding percentage which is third best in the MIAA. They have allowed 36 stolen bases and have the third fewest errors with 56. 

The Mules
• Central Missouri is 30-12 overall with a 21-9 mark in MIAA play. UCM currently sits atop the MIAA regular season standings and is ranked No. 23 in the latest NCBWA Top-25 rankings. They also check in at No. 1 in the first set of NCAA Central Region rankings.
• The Mules posted an 8-0 shutout win over Southwest Baptist this past Tuesday to claim their eighth MIAA series win of the year. Their shutout win was their first of the season.
• As a team, the Mules are third in the MIAA with a .319 batting average. UCM is holding teams to a .344 on base percentage and is averaging just under eight runs a game at 7.60. 
• The top of the order continues to produce for the Mules this season. Mason Janvrin and Erik Webb have a combined 117 hits and 64 RBI. Janvrin is batting .379 from the leadoff spot, which is ninth in the MIAA and has two home runs to go along with nine doubles. His 45 runs scored are fifth in the league and lead the club. He also leads the teams with 20 multiple hit games and is currently on 14-game on base and hit streak.
• Webb is second on the team in RBI with 38. His .356 batting average is third on the club and he has 30 extra base hits, including 10 home runs. His 12 stolen bases are second most on the team and tied for fifth in the MIAA. His .729 slugging percentage and 17 doubles are the most on the team as well.
• The bottom of the lineup has been reliable for UCM. The combination of Donovan Ditto and Dalton Dull has started all 42 games at second base. Ditto has a combined 30 hits from the No. 8 and 9 spot in the lineup. In 110 at bats overall, Ditto is hitting .282 with a .391 on base percentage. 
• Travis Able is the team's leading hitter at .383, which is sixth in the MIAA. He has .455 on base percentage and is third on the team with 35 RBI. His 59 hits are second on the team.
• Collin Nevil is batting .341, while Justin Graff-Rowe is batting just under .300 at .291. Harrison Schnurbusch is hitting .281. Nevil leads the team with 42 RBI. John Fairchild (27), Schnurbusch (22), Graff-Rowe (21), Ditto (17), Payne McCutcheon (14), and Zak Wahalin (16) all have at least 10 RBI.
• In 366 innings pitched, Mules pitchers are giving up just one hit per inning. Opponents are hitting just .260 off of UCM pitchers, but have reached base in other ways with 134 walks and have reached on 64 errors and 53 hit batsmen.
• UCM pitchers have also done well at holding runners on base. The Mules have given up just 19 stolen bases in 42 games on 30 attempts and have picked four runners off. Their 19 stolen bases allowed are the fewest in the MIAA.
• On the flip side, the Mules have stolen 84 bases in 118 attempts themselves, which leads the MIAA. Janvrin has a league leading 29 stolen bases, while Webb is second on the team with 12. Schnurbusch is third with nine. Able is third with seven, but has a clean sheet at a perfect 7-7 in stolen base attempts.
• The Mules have hit 43 home runs from 13 different players. Nevil, Webb, Janvrin, McCutcheon, Graff-Rowe and Fairchild have all slugged at least two home runs this season. Nevil leads the way with 13, which is tied for fourth in the MIAA. Webb is second on the club and tied for 10th in the league with 10.
• The Mules have gotten a lot of production from their catcher position. McCutcheon has supplied some power with two home runs and 14 RBI. Whalin has 19 hits in 60 at bats for a .317 batting average and Cole Hoover is hitting .256 with 10 hits and eight RBI.
• UCM's bullpen continues to play well. While Mules pitchers have a 4.40 ERA this season to lead the MIAA, the bullpen ERA is 3.42. Luke Mercer has eight saves on the year, which is third most in the MIAA. He sports a 2.50 ERA and has struck out 22 batters in 18 innings of work.
• Coby Seiz still has the most work out of the pen. He's thrown 28 innings and given up just seven earned runs and 22 hits with 25 strikeouts. He has two saves and sports a 2.25 ERA. Ross Juliana has been solid as well with a 4-1 record. He has pitched 21.1 innings and has 20 strikeouts on the year.

Last Time Out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 24, 2018) - Central Missouri took care of Southwest Baptist Tuesday evening in Warrensburg, shutting out the Bearcats 8-0. The win is the Mules 30th of the season and puts them at 30-12 and 21-9 in the MIAA.

Play-by-Play
• It wasn't all offense at the start. Through five innings there were a combined five hits as starting pitchers Collin Jones and Elias Czech were seemingly locked in.
• Jones was helped out by his defense in the first inning, getting the first two out on a double play, and an inning-ending diving catch in left field by Travis Able.
• Jones got another double play in the fourth and seemed to get stronger as the game wore on. He set the Bearcats down in order in the fifth and sixth innings, throwing just 11 pitches in the fifth and six in the sixth.
• Central Missouri finally got on the board and in a big way in the sixth inning. After Collin Nevil and Justin Graff-Rowe were hit by a pitch, John Fairchild tripled to deep center field to score the first two runs of the game.
• UCM added three more in the frame. Harrison Schnurbusch scored Fairchild one pitch later with a sacrifice fly to center. Cole Hoover then knocked the second triple of the inning, this time off the wall in right field as Donovan Ditto came around to score. Mason Janvrin made it 5-0 with an opposite field single to right.
• The Mules bullpen kept the Bearcats off the board the rest of the way and UCM scored again in the seventh and eighth innings.
• With two outs and one on in the seventh, Schnurbusch picked up RBI number two with a single to left, scoring Graff-Rowe who walked. The Mules loaded the bases and Janvrin's walk allowed Schnurbusch to score.
• In the eight, Collin Nevil blasted a 2-0 pitch deep to right for his 12th home run.

Mules Stat Leaders
• Collin Jones got the start and the win. He pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out three. He improves to 5-2 this season. 
• Collin Nevil scored twice, once on a solo home run, going 1-4.
• Mason Janvrin drove in a pair of runs going 1-3 with a stolen base.
• Justin Graff-Rowe reached base four times with a double, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. He also scored twice.
• John Fairchild went 1-3 with a triple, two RBI and a run scored.
• Harrison Schnurbusch finished 2-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
• Donovan Ditto knocked two hits and scored a run.

For the Bearcats
• Elias Czech started and went 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
• Tyler Mathys went 2-4 with a double.
• Andrew Meier reached base twice with a pair of walks. 

News and Notes
• This is the Mules first shutout win of the season.
• Central Missouri wins the season series with Southwest Baptist 2-1.
• Collin Nevil's home run was the 26th of his career, tying him for ninth all-time in team history.
• The bullpen of BJ Sparks, Bryce Kearns and Stanton Lohrengel threw 2.2 scoreless innings.
• Central Missouri turned three ground ball double plays in the game, matching a season-high.

Up Next
• The Mules final home series of the regular season. UCM will host Missouri Southern April 27-29. UCM will also host Senior Day, Saturday, April 28.

Mules in the Polls
• The Mules fell one spot to No. 23 in the latest NCBWA National Poll after being ranked No. 22.
• Central Missouri has been ranked in the last nine NCBWA polls after starting the season unranked.
• The Mules are 20th in the latest ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game Division II rankings. 
• UCM checked in at No. 1 in the first set of the NCAA Central Region Rankings.

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 9-3 in non-conference games. They do not have a scheduled non-conference game for the rest of the regular season.
• The Mules are ranked No. 3 in the first set of NCAA Central Region rankings. 

Mules in MIAA Play
• The Mules finished 23-13 in MIAA play last season and are 99-42 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 21-9 in conference play after shutting out Southwest Baptist, 8-0, this past Tuesday.

Mules at Home
• The Mules went 14-4 in home games during the 2017 season and are 18-3 in 2018. 
• Central Missouri was 15-5 at home during the 2015 season and is 65-15 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 806-159-1 (.835) in 966 games played in 43 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 50-37 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes.
• Central Missouri is 11-7 in true road games this season after falling at Lindenwood, 10-2.

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 135-67 (.668) 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 1,894-753-9 (.715) record in 2,655 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 863-242 (.781) 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 Jennies Soccer won their first NCAA Division II National Championship with a 1-1 (5-3 PK) win over Carson-Newman. 
• This past winter, Central Missouri Jennies Basketball captured their 11th MIAA regular season championship and seventh Central Region crown this season. They defeated Ashland, 66-52, to win the 2018 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship.
• 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 10 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, women's soccer in 2017 and women's basketball in 2018, and 12 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 to Tahlequah, Okla., for the final weekend of the regular season to take on Northeastern State. The three game series will be Friday-Sunday, May 4-6. Game times are set for 3 p.m., 2 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively.