Mules End Nonconference On the Road at William Jewell

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 24, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball has one final midweek game this season. They'll be on the road for a nonconference game against William Jewell.

Opponent
William Jewell Cardinals (17-24-1)

Where
Liberty, Mo. (Talley Stadium)

When
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 - 3:30 p.m.

On the Air
• Wednesday's game will be streamed live on the William Jewell Blue Frame portal page on the GLVC Sports Network.  
• There will also be live stats available on www.ucmathletics.com.

First Pitch
• Central Missouri goes on the road for their final nonconference game of the season when they pay a visit to William Jewell in Liberty, Mo.
• The Mules took two of three from Northwest Missouri last weekend.
• The Mules will be back at home for the final time this weekend against Fort Hays State
• After this weekend, the Mules will have just one series left in the regular season, taking on Missouri Western.

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 28 wins this season, two away from their 26th straight season winning 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 9-6 against William Jewell
• The two teams met last year in Warrensburg, a 14-2 Mules win. It was their first meeting since 1993.
William Jewell
• William Jewell is 17-24-1 on the season and 11-16 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
• They've won two straight though and this conclude a five-game homestand. They are 5-6 this season playing at Talley Stadium in Liberty. 
• The Cardinals are hitting .272 as a team. Tyler Murphy is the teams leading hitter at .349. He also has a team-best seven home runs.
• Nick Gavin and Nick Modrcin share the team lead with 27 RBI each. They've done it in different way as Gavin has 15 extra-base hits, while Modrcin is hitting better with runners in scoring position.
• William Jewell doesn't do much base running with just 24 stolen bases this season. They've given up 58 in 79 attempts.
• Murphy isn't just the team's leading hitter, he is also their closer. He has a 1.80 ERA in 11 appearances with four saves.
• Mack Stephenson has started 11 games and pitched t oa 3.74 ERA. He's 3-5 on the seaon with 59 strikeouts.
• As a team, the Cardinals have a 5.66 team ERA and opponents are hitting .288 against them. 
• William Jewell is not a good defensive team as shown by their .940 fielding percentage. With 92 errors, they are averaging 2.2 errors per game.

Individual Milestones
• Luke Mercer is tied for 10th all-time with 11 career saves. One away from ninth place.  
• With his 67 stolen bases, Mason Janvrin is eight steals away from reaching the Mules all-time top 10. 
• Erik Webb moved to third all-time in career home runs with 32. He's five away from second. With his 15 home runs this season, Webb is also one more away from the top-10.
• Harrison Schnurbusch reached 100 career hits last week and is four games away from 100.
• Jonathan Sprinkle needs one more strikeout for 50 this season.
• Cole Taylor needs five more hits to reach 50.

Who's Hot?
• The biggest surprise last weekend was Josh Schumacher. He came off the bench Thursday to deliver two hits. He finished the weekend with six including two runs and two RBI.
• Cole Taylor and Erik Webb each hit two home runs against the Bearcats. Webb drove in six runs while one of Taylor's was a walk-off home run Friday evening.
• Webb also extended his reached base streak to 39 games. Mason Janvin is up to 40 games, just the third 40+ single-season reached base streak since 2000.
• Janvrin and Alex Madera also hit better than .400 last weekend.
• Luke Lucas threw five innings and allowed one earned run with five strikeouts.
• Jonathan Sprinkle worked all three games pitching three innings and giving up just one hit.

MIAA Leaders
• As a team, the Mules lead the MIAA with a .325 batting average, the only team above .300 in the league. They also have the highest slugging percentage at .507 and on-base percentage at .406. No other team in the league is slugging better than .500 or has an on-base above .400. 
• Four Mules are in the top-10 in the MIAA in hitting. Erik Webb is second hitting .423 and Mason Janvrin is third at .407. Alex Madera is hitting .377 and Zak Whalin .358 putting them fifth and 10th. 
• Janvrin also leads the league in runs scored (53), stolen bases (27) and hits (70).
• Webb's .872 slugging percentage is tops in the league as are his 57 runs batted in and 15 home runs. He is tied for second in the MIAA in runs scored with 44.
• Michael Sinks is seventh in RBI with 36 and Harrison Schnurbusch eighth with 35.
• Micah Evans and Donovan Ditto are second in the MIAA with 11 hit-by-pitches. 
• Mason Green's 2.58 ERA is fifth in the MIAA and his .204 opponent batting average is fourth. His six wins are second-most in the MIAA. 
• Ben Kelsch has collected 24 punchouts looking, which is third in the MIAA. 
• Jonathan Sprinkle has earned six saves which is 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 are currently second in the MIAA with a 19-8 record and six more games to play. They are one game behind Missouri Southern in the standings. 
• 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 21-5 this season when playing at Crane Stadium.
• The Mules went 24-4 in home games during the 2018 season.
• Central Missouri is 93-21 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 832-165-1 (.834) 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 172-84 (.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 1,931-770-9 (.713) record in 2,710 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 900-259 (.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 wrap up their home schedule this upcoming weekend against Fort Hays State. UCM will host Military Appreciation Day Friday, April 26 and Senior Day Saturday, April 27.