WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 28, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball will continue their MIAA schedule this week against Northeastern State.

Opponent
Northeastern State RiverHawks (2-12, 1-2 MIAA)

Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field

When
Thursday-Friday
Thursday - 1 p.m.
Friday - 12 p.m. (DH)

First Pitch
• Central Missouri continues their home this weekend with a three game set against Northeastern State.
• The Mules took two-out-of-three last weekend against Emporia State in their MIAA opener and defeated Truman State Tuesday afternoon in Warrensburg, 12-5.

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 in 2018.
• 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 year Central Missouri is off to an 8-5 start after taking two-of-three from Emporia State and are 2-1 thus far in MIAA play.
• The Mules finished third in the regular season standings a year ago and were the MIAA Tournament Champions, advancing to the NCAA Regional for the 29th time. 

On the Air
• Live stats for all games are available at www.ucmathletics.com

The Series
• The Mules and RiverHawks have met 34 times in their history with the Mules holding a 23-11 record.
• Last season, the RiverHawks took 2-3 from UCM in the final weekend of the regular season.
• Under coach Kyle Crookes, the Mules are 9-4 against Northeastern State.

Northeastern State
• The RiverHawks have lost two straight and are winners in just two of their first 14 games.
• They opened MIAA play dropping a three-game series with Northwest Missouri, 2-1.
• On the road the RiverHawks are 0-5. In their last road series they were swept by Rogers State.
• As a team, the RiverHawks are hitting .258 with a .374 on-base percentage.
• Blake Freeman has started 12 games and has a .373 average to lead the team.
• Zack Henderson and Colton Burgess have supplied the power for the RiverHawks with two home-runs apeice.
• Jaxon Phipps is hitting .270 and leads the team with 15 RBI. 
• Northeastern State isn't much of a stolen-base threat with just six on the sesaon. Their pitchers have given up 19 in 26 attempts.
• Defensively, the RiverHawks are one of the worst team in the MIAA. They sport a .933 fielding percentage having already committed 32 errors.
• Northeastern State has struck out 112 times, an average of eight punch outs per game.
• On the mound, Northeastern State has an team ERA approaching nine at 8.92. Jonathan Smiley has found success with a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings with four appearaces and two starts.
• Dustin Berrong has struck out a team-best 25 hitters in 16.2 innings, but has an ERA north of 7.
• RiverHawk pitchers have given up 13 home runs and opposing hitters are batting .350 against them with a .531 slugging percentage. Of the 168 hits they've given up, 56 have gone for extra bases.

Individual Milestones
• 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 needs 2 RBI to reach 100 and 10 hits for 150. 
• Zak Whalin is one hit away from 50. 
• Harrison Schnurbusch has matched his season total from last year with four home runs. 

Who's Hot?
• Still, just about everybody. UCM entered the week hitting .403 in their last six games while opponents are at just .170.
• Mason Janvrin has 14 hits in 27 at bats during that stretch with five RBI, 11 runs and five stolen bases. 
• Harrison Schnurbusch has driven in nine runs with two home runs.
• Erik Webb hit .500 last weekend against Emporia State with seven hits, three for extra bases and four RBI.
• On the mound, Mason Green has allowed just two hits in his last 12 innings with one earned run and 20 strikeouts.
• Brady Gavin had his best start as a Mule pitching 4.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

MIAA Leaders
• Through 13 games, the Mules lead the MIAA in average at .323 and home runs with 16.
• The Mules 137 strikeouts are the second most in the conference and their 55 strikeouts looking lead the league.
• Mason Janvrin is all over the MIAA leaderboard. He's second with a .464 batting average and fourth with a .530 on base percentage. He leads the league in runs (21), hits (26), and stolen bases (10).
• Noone in the MIAA has a higher slugging percentage than Erik Webb's .894. He also leads the league with 17 runs batted in and is second with four home runs.  
• Webb, Kole Ficken and Micah Evans are all tied for fourth in the MIAA with five doubles.
• With a 2.79 ERA, Mason Green is 10th in the MIAA. He is also among the league leaders in opposing batting average (4th - .157) and strikeouts (7th - 26). 

Mules in Non-Conference Action
• UCM went 9-3 in non-conference games during the 2018 regular season. 
• They are off to a 6-4 start this year. 
• The Mules are 41-28 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' four seasons.

Mules in MIAA Play
• UCM just started MIAA last week, going 2-1 against Emporia State. 
• The Mules finished 24-12 in MIAA play last season and are 104-46 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
• So far, UCM is 6-1 this season when playing at home. 
• The Mules went 24-4 in home games during the 2018 season.
• Central Missouri is 75-17 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 818-161-1 (.835) in 979 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
• They are 1-2 to start this season.
• The Mules are 52-42 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes. 

Mules in Neutral Site Games
• UCM went 3-4 in neutral site games last season.
• In three games this season, UCM is 1-2 at neutral sites. 
• The Mules are 23-20 in neutral site games under Crookes.

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 152-77 (.662) 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 1,911-763-9 (.714) record in 2,681 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 880-252 (.777) 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.
• UCM added another MIAA trophy as the Mules Indoor Track and Field team won their first conference title since 2013. 
• 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
• The Mules are scheduled to have a midweek game next Tursday, March five when they take on Drury at Crane Stadium.