WARRENSBURG, Mo. (May 15, 2018) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball will ride the momentum from winning the MIAA Tournament Championship right into this weekend's NCAA Central Region Tournament. 

Opponent: #7 Oklahoma Baptist Bison (31-17, 20-10 GAC)

When: Thursday-Monday, May 17-21
            Game 1: Thursday, May 17 - 5 p.m.

Where: Magnolia, Ark. - Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field

On the Air
• All Central Region Tournament games will be broadcast live on 98.5 The Bar and streaming live on www.warrensburgradio.com. Bob Jackson will be on the call for all Mules games.
• Live video of all games will also be available for free through the Southern Arkansas Livestream web portal. SAU will also be providing live stats for all tournament games. 

First Pitch
• Central Missouri finished third in the MIAA regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in this weekend's NCAA Central Region Championship
• The Mules hosted the 2018 MIAA Championship Tournament and went 4-0 to win their 22nd conference tournament championship.
• As the No. 2 seed, the Mules first draw is No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist. They will then play either No. 3 Central Oklahoma or No. 6 St. Cloud State.

Quick Hits
• 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. 
• There are four MIAA teams in the eight team regional field.

The Series
• This will mark the first ever meeting between Central Missouri and Oklahoma Baptist.

Oklahoma Baptist
• Oklahoma Baptist enters the regional championship at 31-17 overall. They earned the No. 7 seed in this weekend's tournament.
• The Bison went 20-10 in the GAC to finish in third place in the regular season standings.
• OBU needed to win one game to win the GAC Tournament, but finished in second place as Southern Arkansas defeated them in back-to-back games.
• The Bison finished second in the GAC in hitting with a .316 team batting average. They were also second in slugging percentage (.527) and on-base percentage (.406).
• They were also one of the top teams in pitching with a 4.74 team ERA and held opponents to a .255 batting average against, both second in the league. 
• OBU struck out 441 batters and their 375 hits allowed were the fewest in the GAC this season. 
• They also allowed the fewest runs, hits, doubles, and home runs in the conference.
• The Bison offensive attack is led by Jake Gozzo and Zane Gelphman. They have a combined 29 home runs and have each driven in more than 40 runs. Gozzo is hitting .344 with 12 home runs, while Gelphman leads the team with 17 round trippers and 55 RBI. They are the top-two in the GAC in slugging percentage with Gelphman's .701 the best in the league. 
• The top of the lineup is held down by Brett Berghammer. He is hitting .385 which is second in the GAC and his .463 on base percentage is sixth. Berghammer leads the team with 72 hits and shares the lead with Gelphman having scored 49 runs. Berghammer has also stolen a team best eight bases.
• Five Bison have double-digit doubles. In addition to Berghammer (14), Gelphman (13) and Gozzo (11), Juan Gonzalez (11) and Josh Timms (12) have 10+ two-baggers. Gonzalez is second on the team hitting .352 and Timms has driven in 39 runs.
• Four Bison have made at least eight starts this season. Zach Fowler leads the team with 13 and is 8-3 with a 5.26 ERA. 
• Mychal Yarbor has pitched the most innings at 76.0 in 16 appearances and 12 starts. He is 5-4 with a 4.62 ERA.
• Caleb Bly has been the Bisons most effective pitchers. He's started eight games and appeared in 12 more. He is 7-1 with a 3.52 ERA and a team-leading 95 strikeouts in 61.1 innings and a .197 batting average against.
• Former Mule alert - Albertus Barber has pitched in 12 games for the Bison with nine starts. He has a 6-3 record with a 4.63 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. Opponents are hitting .241 against him, but he has been prone to give up the long ball, leading the staff with nine home runs. 
• Working mostly out of the bullpen, Thomas Shroder is 1-0 with a 3.14 ERA in 43.0 innings with one save.
• The Bison like to strike early. They have 62 first-inning runs, their most in any inning. Of their 376 total runs, 177, 47% have come in the first three innings. They are 19-5 this season when scoring in the first inning.
• Oklahoma Baptist has scored 10 or more runs 14 times this season and hit at least two home runs in 18 games.
• The Bison have been successful in close games. They are 7-6 in one-run games and 11-6 in games decided by two runs or fewer. 
• OBU has done a good job of holding onto leads. When leading after six innings, they are 27-1 and haven't lost a game when leading after eight innings.  

The Mules
• Central Missouri is 37-15 overall with a 24-12 mark in MIAA play. UCM finished third in the MIAA regular season standings. 
• The Mules went 4-0 in the MIAA Tournament this past weekend on their way to their 22nd MIAA Tournament Championship.
• UCM outscored their opponents 35-6 during the tournament, an average score of 9-1.5 per game.
• As a team, the Mules are third in the MIAA with a .320 batting average. UCM is holding teams to a .341 on base percentage and is averaging just under eight runs a game at 7.52. 
• The top of the order continues to produce for the Mules this season. Mason Janvrin and Erik Webb have a combined 145 hits and 76 RBI. Janvrin is batting .378 from the leadoff spot, which is seventh in the MIAA and has two home runs to go along with 10 doubles. His 56 runs scored lead the club and are tied for fifth in the league. He also leads the teams with 26 multiple hit games.
• Webb is third on the team in RBI with 44. His .333 batting average is third on the club and he has 34 extra base hits, including 12 home runs. His 12 stolen bases are second most on the team. His .656 slugging percentage and 19 doubles are the most on the team as well.
• The bottom of the lineup has been reliable for UCM. Donovan Ditto has played in 47 of the Mules 52 games, with 43 starts all at second base. Ditto has a combined 44 hits from the No. 8 and 9 spot in the lineup. In 146 at bats, Ditto is hitting .301 with a .362 on base percentage. 
• Travis Able is the team's leading hitter at .382, which is sixth in the MIAA. He has .446 on base percentage and is second on the team with 48 RBI. His 76 hits are second on the team.
• Collin Nevil is batting .330, while Justin Graff-Rowe is batting .268. Harrison Schnurbusch is hitting .299. Nevil leads the team with 51 RBI. John Fairchild (36), Schnurbusch (28), Graff-Rowe (24) Zak Whalin and Ditto (22) have at least 20 RBI.
• In 453 innings pitched, Mules pitchers are giving up just one hit per inning. Opponents are hitting just .252 off of UCM pitchers, but have reached base in other ways with 169 walks and have reached on 78 errors and 67 hit batsmen.
• UCM pitchers have also done well at holding runners on base. The Mules have given up just 24 stolen bases in 48 games on 37 attempts and have picked five runners off. Their 26 stolen bases allowed are the fewest in the MIAA.
• On the flip side, the Mules have stolen 91 bases in 134 attempts themselves, which leads the MIAA. Janvrin has a league leading 32 stolen bases, while Webb is second on the team with 12. Schnurbusch is third with nine and Nevil has eight.
• The Mules have hit 53 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 14, which is  fourth in the MIAA. Webb is second on the club with 12.
• The Mules have gotten a lot of production from their catcher position. Whalin has been red-hot with 34 hits in 91 at bats for a .374 batting average and Cole Hoover is hitting .250 with 11 hits and nine RBI. Whalin had the walk-off RBI in the ninth inning of the MIAA Tournament Championship. 
• UCM's bullpen continues to play well. While Mules pitchers have a 4.27 ERA this season to lead the MIAA, the bullpen ERA is 3.58. Luke Mercer has nine saves on the year, which is third most in the MIAA. He sports a 2.14 ERA and has struck out 26 batters in 21 innings of work.
• Coby Seiz still has the most work out of the pen. He's thrown 45.1 innings and has a 4-2 record with three saves. Jonathan Sprinkle has struck out 31 batters in 22.0 innings across 19 appearances and has a 2.45 ERA. 
• Starter Brandon Reid has a 2.64 ERA in 12 appearances and nine starts in 47.2 innings. He started the Mules combined no-hitter against Central Oklahoma, throwing 6.2 innings. 
• Luke Lucas leads the team with a 7-1 record and 4.24 ERA. Ben Kelsch has thrown 67.2 innings in 14 starts. He and Lucas lead the team with 53 strikeouts. Collin Jones has started 11 games and pitched 60.1 innings and has a 5-2 record and 4.62 ERA. 

Last Time Out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (May 13, 2018) - No. 3 seed Central Missouri Mules Baseball walks off with the 2018 MIAA Tournament Championship trophy after a thrilling 2-1 win in the championship game.

Play-by-Play
• Starting pitchers Collin Jones and Adam Thies were deadlocked in a scoreless pitcher's dual after five innings. Emporia State got on the board first with the help of some Mules miscues. After a one-out walk, Jones' pick-off attempt sailed over the head Collin Nevil and went down the right field line. That allowed Bryce Fisher to get all the way to third. He scored the games first run on a wild pitch.
• After Jones departed, Coby Seiz entered and got a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning and keep the score at 1-0.
• The Mules answered in the seventh. Harrison Schnurbusch led off with a four-pitch walk and moved to second on Donovan Ditto's sacrifice bunt. With two outs and a 1-2 count, Mason Janvrin tied the game with a two-out RBI single to center as Schnurbusch scored the tying run.
• Emporia State threatened to retake the lead in the top of the eighth. They got runners on second and third with one out when Justin Graff-Rowe ended the inning himself. He made a sliding catch on a shallow pop up in right fied. He then came up firing and threw out the runner from third tagging up on the play to end the inning.
• In the ninth, Ditto led off and reached base after a two-base throwing error by the shortstop. Zak Whalin was looking to bunt him over, but after going down in the count 0-2, ended the game with a base hit up the middle as Ditto came around to score.

Mules Stat Leaders
• Collin Jones started and threw a terrific game allowing one unearned run on four hits in 5.1 innings. He walked three and struck out two.
• Mason Janvrin knocked three of the Mules six hits finishing 3-4 with an RBI.
• Harrison Schnurbusch reached base twice with a single and a walk an scored a run.
• Zak Whalin was 1-4 with the game winning hit.
• Luke Mercer earned the win on the mound pitching 1.2 innings giving up just one hit with two strikeouts.
• Coby Seiz tossed two scoreless innings out of the bullpen, surrendering just one hit. 

For the Hornets
• Adam Thies started and threw six innings allowing one run on four hits with one walk.
• Kaden Shaffer reached base three times with two singles and a walk.
• Bryce Fisher scored a run and had a single and two walks.
• Trevor Turner and Kyle Lopez each went 1-4.

News and Notes
• This is the Mules 22nd MIAA Tournament Championship in team history, the last coming in 2016.
• Kyle Crookes has won two MIAA Tournament Championships in four years at Central Missouri.
• The 2-1 win was the lowest scoring game of the MIAA Tournament.
• All 12 hits in the game were singles.
• Central Missouri went 4-0 in the MIAA Tournament. The Mules outscored their opponents 35-6 in the four games.
• The win gives the Mules the MIAA automatic bid into the NCAA Central Region Tournament.

Up Next
• Central Missouri won't have to wait long to find out their first opponent in the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The selection show will be held Sunday night at 9 p.m. CT.

All-MIAA
• Last week the MIAA released their All-MIAA team. The Mules had 10 members on the team.
• Collin Nevil was the only First Team Selection. Travis Able, Mason Janvrin and Erik Webb were named to the second team and Luke Mercer the Third Team.
• John Fairchild, Luke Lucas, Harrison Schnurbusch and Zak Whalin were all Honorable Mention.

No-no
• The Mules advanced to the MIAA Championship game on the back of a combined no-hitter. The no-hitter is the eighth in team history and the first since 2004. It is just the second combined no-hitter in Mules history.
• Brandon Reid got the start and lasted 6.2 innings of the 15-0, 8-inning affair. Jonathan Sprinkle got the last out of the seventh and Stanton Lohrengel finished it off in the eighth. 

Mules in the Polls
• The Mules moved up dropped one spot in the latest NCBWA Top-25 Poll after being ranked No. 9 last week.
• Central Missouri has been ranked in the last 11 NCBWA polls after starting the season unranked.
• The Mules remain in the top 20 in both the Perfect Game poll, where they are 20th and the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper rankings where they are tied for 21st. 
• In the final NCAA Central Region regular season rankings, the Mules are ranked third. 

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 during the 2018 regular season. 

Mules in MIAA Play
• The Mules finished 23-13 in MIAA play last season and are 102-45 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 finished the 2018 season at 24-12 in the MIAA and were third in the conference standings.

Mules at Home
• The Mules went 14-4 in home games during the 2017 season and are 22-4 in 2018. 
• Central Missouri was 15-5 at home during the 2015 season and is 69-16 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 812-160-1 (.835) in 973 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 51-39 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes.
• Central Missouri is 12-9 in true road games this season. They won two games as the "away" team in the MIAA Tournament Championship, held in Warrensburg. 

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 has not played a neutral site game since the Houston Winter Invitational.

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 142-70 (.670) 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.
• Coach Crookes added another MIAA Tournament Championship in 2018 and another 10 All-MIAA selections and one to the First Team, bringing the totals to 40 All-MIAA selection and eight to the First Team. 
• 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 1,901-756-9 (.715) record in 2,666 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
• 29 NCAA Regional Appearances (22 of the last 25 years)
• 25 MIAA Titles (17 of the last 25)
• 22 MIAA Tournament Titles (18 of the last 25)
• 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 870-245 (.780) 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.
• The Mules MIAA Tournament Championship is their 22nd in team history and the second MIAA Tournament Championship Central Missouri has won this year, joining Jennies Soccer.
• 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.
• This spring, senior Collin Nevil and sophomore Mason Janvrin were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team and are now eligible for the Academic All-American team. 
• Carly Thomas of Jennies Bowling was awarded prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships last year.

Upcoming
• Following the NCAA Central Region Tournament, the Mules will look to return to NCAA Division II World Series. The winner of the region advances to Cary, N.C. the site of the 2018 NCAA Division II College World Series.