Mules Baseball Opens Series in Colorado

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 7, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball is back on the field this weekend for a three-game set in Colorado.

Opponent
Colorado-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions (3-1)

Where
Colorado Springs, Colo. - Mountain Lion Park

When
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 8-10
Friday - 3 p.m.
Saturday - 1 p.m.
Sunday - 12 p.m.

On the Air
• Games this weekend will be broadcast live on Colorado-Colorado Springs Stretch Internet portal for live video access. Games are free to view.
• Live stats for all games will also be available at www.ucmathletics.com

First Pitch
• Central Missouri will be in Colorado Springs, Colo. for a three game weekend set against the Colorado-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions.
• The three game times have been moved to a 2 p.m. 12 p.m. and 11 a.m. start time. 

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. 
• These are the first road games for the Mules this season who started the year by going 1-2 at the Houston Winter Invitational last weekend at Minute Maid Park. 

The Series
• Last season was the first time these two teams met with the Mules going 2-0 in a doubleheader sweep in Warrensburg.
• Both UCM wins were by two runs.
• Mason Janvrin drove in four runs and collected three hits.
• Collin Jones and Bryce Kearns each picked up a win for the Mules on the mound. 

Colorado-Colorado Springs
• The Mountain Lions opened their season taking three of four from Cal-Poly Pomona.
• This weekend's three against Central Missouri wrap up a seven-game homestand for Colorado Springs. 
• The Mountain Lions totaled 45 runs in four games, reaching double-figures in three and scoring 20 in their third game of the season.
• Not that their pitching needed to dominate, but the Mountain Lions gave up 32 runs themselves including 14 in a 14-3 loss on opening day.
• Daniel Silva, who faced the Mules last season, started and picked up a win throwing seven innings and giving up three runs on five hits with four strikeouts.
• At the dish, the Mountain Lions slugged 10 home runs and enter this weekend hitting .385 as a team with a .719 slugging percentage.
• Matt Clarke was 9-14 with four extra base hits, seven runs scored and five RBI.
• Evan Richards left the yard three-times and drove in eight runs.
• Matt McDermott was 7-13 while scoring four runs and driving in five. He also was 2-2 in stolen base attempts. 
Schedule Changes
• All three games this weekend saw their start times move up. The series begins Friday at 2 p.m. with Saturday's game beginning at 12 p.m. and Sunday's series finale at 11 a.m.
• Additionally, the Mules have moved their home game against Missouri S&T to Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m.

Individual Milestones
• Junior Mason Janvrin is three hits away from reaching 100 for his career.
• Starter Ben Kelsch is 10 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 needs 14 RBI to reach 100. 

Who's Hot?
• It was a nice debut for Alex Madera who got in all three games in Houston and was 5-9 with a run and four RBI. He also stole a base and was solid at shortstop.
• Erik Webb continued where he left off last season with a double, home run and five RBI.
• Freshman Kole Ficken started all three games at DH and was 3-9 and has a team-high two doubles.
• Jonathan Sprinkle had a strong showing on the mound throwing two scoreless innings while striking out three.
• Coby Seiz also logged 2.2 scoreless frames.

MIAA Leaders
• Central Missouri's .384 on base percentage sits third in the MIAA.
• With a .556 batting average, Alex Madera is third in the MIAA among qualified hitters and Erik Webb is sixth at .500.
• Those two are also in the MIAA top-10 in RBI.

New Faces
• In total, 31 Mules saw action last weekend, 16 pitchers and 15 position players.
• Of those 31, 12 made their UCM debuts. 

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. 
• They are off to a 1-2 start this year. 
• The Mules are 36-26 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.
• 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 145-74 (.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 1,904-760-9 (.714) record in 2,673 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 873-249 (.778) 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
• Central Missouri will return home to Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field next weekend for three games against Minnesota-Crookston out of the Northern Sun.