WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 31, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball will leave the frigid midwest and head south to start their season this weekend.

Opponents
St. Mary's Rattlers
Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas
St. Cloud State Huskies

Where
Houston, Texas - Minute Maid Park

When
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 1-3
Friday, Feb. 1 - 5 p.m. vs. St. Mary's
Saturday, Feb. 2 - 1:30 p.m. vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville
Sunday, Feb. 3 - 1:30 p.m. vs. St. Cloud State

On the Air
• All Houston Winter Invitational games will be broadcast live on 1450 KOKO and streaming live on www.warrensburgradio.com. Bob Jackson will be on the call for all Mules games.
• Live stats for all games will also be available at www.ucmathletics.com

First Pitch
• Central Missouri hits the field for the first time in 2019 at the Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park, home of the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros.
• The Mules will kick things off Friday at 5 p.m. against St. Mary's. That'll be followed up with 1:30 p.m. start times Saturday and Sunday 

Quick Hits
• Central Missouri totaled 39 wins last year. The Mules have won at least 30 games in all four seasons under Coach Crookes.
• The team improved by seven wins and won an MIAA title and returned to the NCAA postseason.
• 2018 also marked 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. 
• This is the seventh straight year of the Houston Winter Invitational.

The Series
• All-time the Mules are 5-3 against St. Mary's and 4-2 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. UCM split with these teams in Houston last year, defeating St. Mary's in the season opener and falling to the Javelinas.
• In six career games, the Mules are 2-4 against St. Cloud State. They met last year at the NCAA Regional Championship, a 15-0 Mules win to snap a three-game losing streak to the Huskies. 

St. Mary's
• St. Mary's won the 2018 Heartland Conference regular season with an 18-10 record. They finished 35-18 overall, with their season ending in the Heartland Tournament semifinals.
• Someone the Mules might have to contend with on opening night is junior lefthander Zach de la Garza. He finished the year at 10-3 with a 2.60 ERA and 82 strikeouts. He was a First Team All-Heartland selection as well as an NCBWA All-Region pick.
• The Rattlers also return leading hitter Donnie Perez. The Heartland Player of the Year first baseman hit .353 with a .658 slugging percentage. He clubbed 12 home runs and drove in 54.
• As a team, St. Mary's hit .294 last year and scored 336 runs. Their pitching staff lead the Heartland in ERA at 3.64 for the season. They struck out 353 batters in 425.1 innings and their 35 wins were the most in the league.
• The Rattlers are a very young team as they return only two from their starting lineup last season. In addition to Perez, Mario Vela returns on the infield. 
• They also lost their innings leader and All-Heartland pitcher Fernando Fernandez-Beltran. De La Garza is the only pitcher returning who started more than one game in 2018. 

Texas A&M-Kingsville
• Texas A&M-Kingsville made their first ever to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last season and ended their year at 42-17 overall, 15-9 in the Heartland. 
• The Javelinas went 1-2 in Cary, NC and all three games were won via shutout.
• Kingsville lost 21-20 in the second game of the conference tournament to Tarleton Sate, but rolled through the South Central Regional going 4-1, defeating Colorado Mesa twice. Their pitching staff proved to be the difference allowing just eight runs in the final three games after surrenderin 19 in the first two.
• The Javelinas are bringing back five starting position players from the 2018 squad along with two starting pitchers.
• Back for Kingsville are two of their top power hitters in Manny Loredo and Pablo Hernandez. They both hit six home runs and drove in more than 35 runs. 
• Kohl Ullman also returns after hitting .328 with 14 doubles.
• The Javelinas were always a threat on the bases stealing 116 which was third in the Lone Star last year. 
• On the mound, they return Lone Star Freshman of the Year Tyler Flores. He went 7-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 16 games, nine starts, with 79 strikouts and just 20 walks. 
• Also returning to the staff is Preston Plovanich who started 11 games last year, second most on the team. 
• Saves leader Joshua Valdez is also back after closing out six games and pitching to a 3.24 ERA in 19.

St. Cloud State
• While the Mules didn't end the Huskies season last year, they sure played a part in it. UCM defeated St. Cloud State 15-0 in the second game of the NCAA regional last year, putting them on the brink of elimination which soon found them the next day.
• St. Cloud finished the year 30-17 and 21-8 in the Northern Sun.
• The Huskies placed four on the All-NSIC team last year and three return. Shannon Ahern not only went 7-1 on the mound last season, but earned an NSIC Gold Glove Award as a pitcher.
• Also back are Mitch Mallek and Dominic Austing. Mallek hit over .300 last year while Austing was 7-1 with a 1.94 ERA in 13 starts.
• Every single pitcher that started a game last year for St. Cloud is back for the 2019 season. Last year's staff pitched to a 4.23 ERA which was fourth in the Northern Sun.
• The Huskies had the best team batting average in the league in 2018 at .316. They also were second with 38 home runs.

Individual Milestones
• Junior Mason Janvrin is six hits away from reaching 100 for his career.
• Starter Ben Kelsch is 11 strikeouts away from 100.
• With one more save, Luke Mercer will have 10 for his career. He is two away from cracking the all-time top-10
• Junior Erik Webb will play in his 100th game the first time he takes the field in 2019. He also needs two runs scored to reach 100 and 19 RBI for the century mark. 

Mules in the Polls
• Central Missouri was picked to finish first in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
• The Mules enter the season in the top-25 in a pair of national polls. They are 20th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association and 22nd in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. 

Mules in Non-Conference Action
• UCM went 9-3 in non-conference games during the 2018 regular season. 
• The Mules are 35-24 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' four seasons.

Mules in MIAA Play
• The Mules finished 24-12 in MIAA play last season and are 102-45 in conference play under Kyle Crookes.
• The Mules finished third in the regular season standings in 2017. They have won 25 overall regular season championships in program history and 12 MIAA Tournament titles. 

Mules at Home
• The Mules went 24-4 in home games during the 2018 season.
• Central Missouri 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 was the host and winner of the 2018 MIAA Championship Tournament. 

Mules on the Road
• The Mules went 12-9 on the road in 2018. 
• The Mules are 51-40 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes. 

Mules in Neutral Site Games
• UCM went 3-4 in neutral site games last season. 
• The Mules are 22-18 in neutral site games under Crookes.

Mules in Houston
• This will be the Mules seventh straight season playingin Houston.
• UCM is 11-10 all-time at the Houston Winter Invitational and 6-7 under Coach Crookes. 

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 144-72 (.667) record now in his fifth 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 selections 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 2019 season marks the 63rd in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 1,903-758-9 (.714) record in 2,670 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 Regular Season 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 872-247 (.779) since the year 2000. An average of 46 wins per season over the last 19 years.

A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics
• Central Missouri has won a combined 215 MIAA conference championships in 14 league sports entering 2018-19 to lead all schools.
• The Mules Baseball MIAA Tournament Championship in 2018 was their 22nd in team history and the second MIAA Tournament Championship Central Missouri has won last year, joining Jennies Soccer.
• Last fall, Central Missouri Jennies Soccer won their first NCAA Division II National Championship with a 1-1 (5-3 PK) win over Carson-Newman. 
• Last winter, Central Missouri Jennies Basketball captured their 11th MIAA regular season championship and seventh Central Region crown. They defeated Ashland, 66-52, to win the 2018 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship, the second in program history.
• In 2016-17, 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 161 MIAA championships, more than any other league school entering the 2018-19 year.
• 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. They followed that up by winning the 2017-18 Commissioner's Cup as well.

A Tradition of Excellence in the Classroom
• Central Missouri had 256 student-athletes named to the 2017-18 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 35 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.
• 10 had five student-athletes earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in their respective sports. 
• All-time UCM is third in NCAA-II with 114 Academic All-Americans.

Upcoming
• Following the Houston Winter Invitational, the Mules will be in Colorado Springs for a three-game set with Colorado-Colorado Springs Friday-Sunday, Feb. 8-10.