WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 25, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball will play their final home regular season games of 2019 this weekend. The Mules will also be hosting Military Appreciation Night Friday evening, and Senior Day Saturday afternoon.
Opponent
Fort Hays State Tigers (3-34, 2-25)
Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field
When
Friday-Sunday, April 26-28
Friday, April 26 - 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 27 - 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 28 - 1 p.m.
Military Appreciation Day
• This Friday evening UCM is hosting Military Appreciation Day. All active and retired military members and their families will receive free admission to Friday night's game. The UCM ROTC Color Guard will be presenting the colors for the National Anthem and Lt Col Rob "Spartan" Schoeneberg, Commander, 393rd Bomb Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
Senior Day
• Following Saturday afternoon's game, the Mules will recognize their senior class for 2019 with an on-field ceremony following the game.
First Pitch
• Central Missouri is back home for the final time in the 2019 regular season as they host Fort Hays State.
• The Mules defeated William Jewell Tuesday in their final nonconference game.
• UCM took two of three from Northwest Missouri last weekend in their most recent MIAA series.
• 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 29 wins this season, two away from their 26th straight season winning 30 or more games.
• UCM was ranked first in the first NCAA Central Region Rankings.
• 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.
On the Air
• The series opener will be streamed live on the Mules MIAA Network portal page, found at www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules.
•
Bob Jackson will be on the call on radio on 1450 KOKO and online at www.warrensburgradio.com.
• There will also be live stats available on www.ucmathletics.com.
The Series
• All-time the Mules are 38-13 against William Jewell
• The Mules swept the Tigers in Hays last year, scoring 10+ runs in each game.
• UCM has won eight straight dating back to 2016 and are 10-3 under Coach Crookes.
Fort Hays State
• Fort Hays is at the bottom of the MIAA standings. They are 3-34 overall and 2-25 in the MIAA
• They have lost 13 straight games with their last win coming March 27 against Northwestern Oklahoma.
• Their two MIAA wins this season have come against Southwest Baptist and Emporia State.
• The Tigers are giving up more than a run per inning with a team ERA of 9.47. Ethan Booe has been their best pitcher with a 4.56 ERA in 53.1 innings in nine starts.
• Ryan Ruder and Jake Taylor have each starte seven games. Ruder has a win and a 7.42 ERA.
• Two Tigers are hitting better than .300 for the season. Landon Erway leads the team hitting .341 with a .417 on-base percentage.
• Ryan Grasser has driven in a team-best 22 runs.
• The Tigers have hit just 11 home runs and four share the team lead with two long balls.
• Fort Hays is striking out in 30% of their at bats this season with 353 punchouts in 1174 at bats.
• The Tiger defense is also at the bottom of the league with a .944 fielding percentage. They have made 70 errors as a team.
Individual Milestones
•
Luke Mercer is tied for 10th all-time with 11 career saves. One away from ninth place.
• With his 69 stolen bases,
Mason Janvrin is six steals away from reaching the Mules all-time top 10. He also needs five more to join the single-season 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 three 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 and then added two more hits in the Mules game at William Jewell Wednesday. He has eight hits in 15 at bats with two doubles.
•
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 40 games. Mason Janvin is up to 41 games, just the third 40+ single-season reached base streak since 2000.
• Janvrin is hitting .500 in his last four games.
Alex Madera and
Erik Webb are each 7-17 in their last four.
•
Harrison Schnurbusch has five RBI in his last four games.
•
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 .326 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 at the top hitting .422 and
Mason Janvrin is third at .415.
Alex Madera is hitting .378 and
Zak Whalin .358 putting them fifth and ninth.
• Janvrin also leads the league in runs scored (54), stolen bases (29) and hits (73).
• Webb's .876 slugging percentage is tops in the league as are his 58 runs batted in and 15 home runs. He is second in the MIAA in runs scored with 46.
•
Michael Sinks is seventh in RBI with 37 and
Harrison Schnurbusch eighth with 36.
•
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 as is his .204 opponent batting average. His six wins are tied for the 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 finished with nonconference games this season and played to a 10-4 record.
• The Mules are 44-28 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' four-plus seasons.
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 8-5 this season in true road games.
• The Mules are 59-45 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 173-84 (.673) 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 1,932-770-9 (.713) record in 2,711 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 901-259 (.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 have one more regular season matchup left. They go to St. Joseph, Mo. to take on Missouri Western next weekend.
