Mules to Host Lindenwood For Three This Weekend

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 11, 2019) - Winners of four of their last five at home, Central Missouri Mules Baseball welcomes Lindenwood to Crane Stadium for a three-game weekend set.

Opponent
Lindenwood Lions - 19-16, 13-8 MIAA

Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field

When
Friday-Sunday, April 12-14
Friday, April 12 - 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 13 - 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 14, 1 p.m.

On the Air
• All three games are streaming live on warrensburgradio.com with Bob Jackson calling the action.
• There will also be live stats available on www.ucmathletics.com.
• The first two games of the series will be live streamed on the Mules BlueFrame portal page on the MIAA Network at themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules

First Pitch
• Central Missouri continues their homestand this weekend with a three-game series against Lindenwood.
• The Mules just defeated Arkansas Tech 9-3 Tuesday afternoon in a nonconference game. 
• The Mules finished up their six-game road swing last weekend 4-2 with series wins over Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern with some wild finishes in their final two games with the Lions.
• The Mules have won two of three in each of their last four MIAA series. 

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. 
• 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. 

The Series
• All-time the Mules are 26-11 against Lindenwood.
• A year ago, the Mules were 2-1 against the Lions and 1-0 at home. 
• Under Coach Crookes, the Mules are 7-6 against Lindenwood dating back to 2015.

Lindenwood
• Lindenwood comes to Warrensburg winners of six of their last seven and have won four straight MIAA series.
• They are 19-16 overall and 13-8 in the MIAA which is good for a tie for fourth place in the league standings.
• Away from home, Lindenwood is one game under .500 at 8-9. 
• Behind their two frontline starters, Lindenwood has mixed and matched the rest of the rotation. Blake Beckmann and Kyle Hentis each have made 10 starts, but noone else on the staff has more than five.
• Beckmann is 2-3 with a 3.59 ERA. He's struck out 51 in 47.2 innings and opponents are hitting just .229 against him.
• Hentis sports a 3-2 record and 3.70 ERA. He leads the team with 53 strikeouts.
• The bullpen is led by Eric Hipp. He has three saves and a 1.82 ERA with 28 strikeouts. Michael Cessna has four saves and is 3-3 with a 3.33 earned run average.
• Lindenwood pitchers have allowed just six home runs all season.
• The offense is led by DJ Miller who has started all 35 games. he has a .359 batting average and .433 on base percentage with a club-best 51 hits.
• Neil Fischer leads the team with five of their 11 home runs. he has also driven in 33 runs.
• Bryce Beckmann is hitting .344 and has 13 stolen bases to lead the Lions.
• Defensively, Lindenwood is near the bottom of the MIAA with a .954 fielding percentage. 

Individual Milestones
• Luke Mercer is tied for 10th all-time with 11 career saves. One away from ninth place.  
• With his 65 stolen bases, Mason Janvrin is 10 steals away from reaching the Mules all-time top 10. 
• Erik Webb is tied for 6th all-time in home runs with 29. He is one away from 30 which will make him just the sixth Mule to ever reach that figure. 
• Harrison Schnurbusch is five hits away from 100 in his career and with 10 more games will hit 100 games played.
• Zak Whalin needs three more RBI to get to 50.

Who's Hot?
• It's all about the offense, baby. UCM hit .339 last weekend and scored 38 runs on 39 hits with nine home runs.
• They scored nine more runs Tuesday with two home runs against Arkansas Tech, bringing their total to 47 runs scored in the last four games. 
• Michael Sinks hit three of those nine home runs and slugged 1.313 with seven of his eight hits going for extra bases against Missouri Southern.
• Cole Taylor is 7 for his last 16 for a .438 batting average.
• Erik Webb has driven in eight runs with two home runs his last four games.
• Both of Mason Janvrin's home runs this season came last weekend at Missouri Southern. 
• Out of the bullpen, Jonathan Sprinkle threw 6.1 scoreless innings, including a career-best 5.1 with nine strikeouts in game one vs. the Lions.
• Luke Lucas three shutout innings out of the pen last weekend.

MIAA Leaders
• As a team, the Mules lead the MIAA with a .329 batting average, the only team above .300 in the league.
• Four Mules are in the top-10 in the MIAA in hitting. Erik Webb and Mason Janvrin are second and third ar .409 and .407. Alex Madera is hitting .394 and Zak Whalin .371 putting them fifth and seventh. 
• Janvrin also leads the league in runs scored (45), stolen bases (25) and hits (59).
• The Mules have three of the top four run scorers. Behind Janvrin, Micah Evans and Harrison Schnurbusch are second with 36 and Erik Webb is tied for fourth with 35. Schnurbusch's 29 walks are third most in the league. 
• Webb's .833 slugging percentage is tops in the league as are his 45 runs batted in and 12 home runs.
• Michael Sinks is fourth in RBI with 33. 
• Donovan Ditto and Micah Evans are tied for second in the MIAA with nine hit-by-pitches. 
• Mason Green's 1.95 ERA is second in the MIAA and his .193 opponent batting average is third. His six wins are tied for the most in the MIAA. 
• Ben Kelsch has collected 22 punchouts looking, which is tied for the lead in the MIAA. 
• Jonathan Sprinkle has earned five saves which is tied for third. 

Mules in Non-Conference Action
• UCM went 9-3 in non-conference games during the 2018 regular season. 
• They are off to an 9-4 start this year.
• The Mules are 44-28 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' four-plus seasons.
• The Mules have one more nonconference game left. They play at William Jewell April 24.

Mules in MIAA Play
• Just past the midway point of the conference season, the Mules are 14-7 after taking two of three against Missouri Southern.
• The Mules finished 24-12 in MIAA play last season and are 116-52 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 15-4 this season when playing at Crane Stadium.
• The Mules went 24-4 in home games during the 2018 season.
• Central Missouri is 84-20 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 827-164-1 (.834) in 992 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 7-5 this season in true road games.
• The Mules are 58-45 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 167-83 (.668) 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 1,926-769-9 (.714) record in 2,704 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 895-258 (.776) 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 in 2019 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 will remain home for another three-game set next weekend against Northwest Missouri Thursday-Saturday, April 18-20.