Mules Play Host to Bearcats for Three

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 17, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball remains at home for another weekend set. They'll play host to Northwest Missouri for three, looking to extend their five-game winning streak.

Opponent
Northwest Missouri Bearcats (17-19, 13-11)

Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field

When
Thursday-Saturday, April 18-20
Thursday, April 18 - 6 p.m.
Friday, April 19 - 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 20 - 2 p.m.

On the Air
• All three games can be heard streaming live on warrensburgradio.com with Bob Jackson calling the action.
• There will also be live stats available on www.ucmathletics.com.
• All three 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 Northwest Missouri.
• The Mules are in the midst of a five-game winning streak after sweeping Lindenwood last weekend.
• The Mules sweep over the Lions was their first series sweep since they took three from Northeastern State. 
• After this weekend, UCM will have just one more home series in the regular season.

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.
• The Mules have 26 wins this season, marking the 26th 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 145-70 against Northwest Missouri.
• They have more wins against the Bearcats than any other team in their history. 
• A year ago, the Mules were 1-2 against the Bearcats, all on the road.
• Under Coach Crookes, the Mules are 9-5 against Lindenwood dating back to 2015.

Northwest Missouri
• Northwest Missouri has dropped four straight after being swept on the road last week against Missouri Western.
• The Bearcats are 17-19 overall and 13-11 in the MIAA. 
• NWMSU has struggled all season on the road with a mark of 8-16 in road games.
• The Bearcat pitching staff is one of the worst in the MIAA. They have a team ERA of 6.76.
• Quintin Van Ackeren is 4-1 in 11 starts with a 5.05 ERA. He also has a team-best 49 strikeouts.
• Joe Funkhouser and Max Spitzmiller also have made 11 starts. Funkhouser is 3-3 while Spitzmiller is 1-6. 
• At the plate, NWMSU is hitting .286 with a .378 on base percentage.
• The team does not hit for much power, with just 13 home runs, second-fewest in the MIAA. 
• Connor Quick leads the team hitting .391 which is fourth in the league.
• Quick and Peter Carlson lead the team having hit three home runs.
• Alixon Herrera is also hitting over .300 and has driven in a team-best 33 runs.
• The Bearcats also don't do much base-stealing. Their 18 stolen bases are the fewest in the MIAA.
• One thing the Bearcats do well is field the ball. They have a .964 fielding percentage which is tied for fourth in the MIAA.
• Out of the bullpen, Trevor Dudar has seven saves and a 5.06 ERA. Jarret Cronin has been an effective reliever with 11.1 innings in 14 appearances with a 3.97 ERA.

Individual Milestones
• Luke Mercer is tied for 10th all-time with 11 career saves. One away from ninth place.  
• With his 66 stolen bases, Mason Janvrin is nine steals away from reaching the Mules all-time top 10. 
• Erik Webb is tied for 5th all-time in home runs with 30 and one away from a tie for third all-time. 
• Harrison Schnurbusch is three hits away from 100 in his career and with seven more games will hit 100 games played.
• Zak Whalin needs one more RBI to get to 50 and Donovan Ditto needs six.

Who's Hot?
• It's all about the offense, baby. UCM hit .341 last week against Lindenwood and reached base 38% of the time.
• Erik Webb is the reigning MIAA Hitter of the Week after going 10-17 with four extra base hits, nine RBI and six runs scored.
• Mason Janvrin collected seven hits last week and added three more stolen bases.
• Both Webb and Janvrin have major reached-base streaks going with Webb at 36 and Janvrin at all 37 games this season.
• Harrison Schnurbusch provided some pop with two doubles and a home run last week while driving in five runs.
• Ben Kelsch had his best start of the season last week going 7 innings without allowing a run.
• Luke Lucas made his first start of the season and earned the win goin 5.2 innings and giving up two runs with five strikeouts.
• Jonathan Sprinkle didn't allow a run in three innings last week. 

MIAA Leaders
• As a team, the Mules lead the MIAA with a .327 batting average, the only team above .300 in the league.
• Four Mules are in the top-10 in the MIAA in hitting. Erik Webb leads the league hittign .424 and Mason Janvrin is third at .405. Alex Madera is hitting .374 and Zak Whalin .367 putting them sixth and eighth. 
• Janvrin also leads the league in runs scored (49), stolen bases (26) and hits (64).
• The Mules have three of the top four run scorers. Behind Janvrin, Erik Webb is second with 39 and Harrison Schnurbusch fourth with 37. Schnurbusch's 29 walks are fourth most in the league. 
• Webb's .840 slugging percentage is tops in the league as are his 51 runs batted in and 13 home runs.
• Michael Sinks is sixth in RBI with 34. 
• Micah Evans is 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 23 punchouts looking, which is tied for second in the MIAA. 
• Jonathan Sprinkle has earned five saves which is tied for fourth. 

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
• The Mules jumped into a tie for first place in the MIAA standings following their sweep of Lindenwood last weekend, putting them at 17-7.
• 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 18-4 this season when playing at Crane Stadium.
• The Mules went 24-4 in home games during the 2018 season.
• Central Missouri is 87-20 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 830-164-1 (.836) in 995 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 170-83 (.672) 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 1,929-769-9 (.715) 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 898-258 (.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 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 go on the road for their final nonconference game of the season, taking on William Jewell next Tuesday, April 24 with a 2 p.m. start.