WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 14, 2020) - Worry not Mules fans, soon enough the snow will melt, the cold will be gone and baseball will be back. This Mules this weekend host a four-game set with the University of Mary Marauders, playing doubleheaders both Saturday and Sunday.

Opponent
Mary Marauders (2-6)

Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field

When
Saturday - Sunday, Feb. 15-16, 1 p.m. (each day)

First Pitch
• Central Missouri is in the midst of a 150-game homestand continueing this week against the University of Mary Marauders.
• The Mules went 3-1 last week to start the homestand against Arkansas Tech. They lost their home opener before winning three straight. 
• Central Missouri won their 26th MIAA regular season championship in 2019, going 24-9 in the league. 
• They followed that by winning their 23rd MIAA Tournament Championship going 4-1 in Pittsburg, Kan.
• UCM then went on to win the 2019 Central Region Champonship. They went 3-0 in Warrensburg with all three wins coming over MIAA teams. They defeated Augustana two games to none in a best two-of-three series to advance to 2019 National Championship where they finished third.

Quick Hits
• Central Missouri totaled 46 wins last year. The Mules have won at least 30 games in all five seasons under Coach Crookes.
• The team made their first trip to the NCAA Division II World Series since 2016 and their 18th overall.
• The Mules 46 wins last season marked the 26th straight season UCM has won at least 30 games and was the most under Coach Kyle Crookes in his five years at the helm.
• The Mules have finished with a winning record in each of the last 32 seasons. 
• The Mules have won back-to-back MIAA Tournament Championships.

On the Air
• Live stats for all games will also be available at www.ucmathletics.com

The Series
• The Mules and the University of Mary have met seven times previously with the Mules winning all seven.
• The teams have not met under Coach Crookes and their last matchup game in 2007, a 4-2 Mules win. 
• All seven games came in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, the two teams played a midweek game and then a four-game series. The Mules outscored Mary 49-8.
• All seven games between these two have been played in Warrensburg. 

University of Mary
• Mary comes to Warrensburg at 2-6 this season. They were swept in a four-game series last weekend at Missouri Southern, including getting no-hit in the series opener.
• The Marauder offense hasn't fared well hitting just .219 as a team with a .339 on base percentage.
• Mary has been hitting some home runs though, eight of the, one for each game.
• Calvin James leads the team with three long balls and has 12 hits with a .387 batting average.
• Spencer Gillund has clubbed two homers with a team-best seven RBI.
• The pitching hasn't been much better with a 6.49 team ERA. 
• Mary pitchers have struck out just 53 in 61 innings and the bats have fanned 95 times themselves.
• There have been some bright spots out of the bullpen. Paxton Miller, AJ Buchman and Jonathan Draheim have combined for 11 shutout innings and just four hits with 11 strikeouts.
• Daniel Turner is 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA. 
• The pitching staff has had trouble allowing unearned runs. The team has a .960 fielding percentage and has given up 18 unearned runs in six games.
• Teams have been running wild on the Marauders with 24 stolen bases in 26 attempts. 

2019 Post Season Awards
• Erik Webb became the 10th MIAA Player of the Year in team history and the first since Bret Schwartz in 2012. 
• Webb was joined by fellow outfielder Mason Janvrin on the All-MIAA first team, and relief pitcher Jonathan Sprinkle. 
• Three Mules made the All-MIAA Second Team: starting pitcher Mason Green, catcher Zak Whalin and shortstop Alex Madera. 
• Harrison Schnurbusch at third base and Michael Sinks at utility were selected to the Third Team and Ben Kelsch (SP), Cole Taylor (1B) and Donovan Ditto (2B) made All-Conference Honorable Mention.
• Janvrin also earned his 2nd straight MIAA Gold Glove in centerfield. 
• Webb was also named the D2CCA, NCBWA and ABCA Central Region Player of the Year. All three publications made him a First Team All-American as well. 
• Jonathan Sprinkle, Mason Janvrin and Mason Green all have earned All-Region Awards. Sprinkle a D2CCA, NCBWA and ABCA First Team seletion, Janvrin Second Team D2CCA and NCBWA and First Team ABCA and Green a Second Team ABCA honoree. Janvrin was also an ABCA Second Team All-American.

Individual Milestones
• Donovan Ditto is seven hits away from 100.
• Erik Webb is just five hits shy of cracking the UCM all-time top-10 in hits. He stands at 234. Webb is currently tied for second in career doubles with 61, just five off the all-time mark. He is just two triples away from the UCM career record and needs five more home runs to tie the UCM record. He is just one RBI away from ninth all-time at UCM.
• Alex Madera needs four more RBI to get to 50 and 11 hits for 100.
• Cole Taylor will get to 50 RBI with two more and 50 runs with five more. 
• Micah Evans needs one more run to get to 50.

Mules in the Pros
• Mason Janvrin became the 34th Mule to be drafted and the third under Coach Crookes. Janvrin was taken with the first pick in round 14, pick number 408 by the Baltimore Orioles. 

Mules in Non-Conference Action
• The Mules played to a 10-4 non-conference regular season record in 2019. They went 12-3 in nonconference postseason games. 
• The Mules are 61-33 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' five-plus seasons.
• UCM is 5-2 in non-conference action to start 2020. 

Mules in MIAA Play
• The Mules won the MIAA with a 24-9 record. It's their 26th MIAA Regular Season Conference Championship. They also have 23 MIAA Conference Tournament Championships with back-to-back Tournament Championships in 2018-19. 
• The Mules are 121-53 in conference play under Kyle Crookes.

Mules at Home
• UCM went 27-5 last season when playing at Crane Stadium.
• The Mules went 24-4 in home games during the 2018 season.
• Central Missouri is 102-22 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 841-166-1 (.836) in 1,007 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 and hosted half of the NCAA Central Region Tournament where they went 3-0.

Mules on the Road
• The Mules were 14-7 this season in true road games.
• They went 12-9 on the road in 2018.
• The Mules are 66-45 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes. 

Mules in Neutral Site Games
• In 16 games last season, UCM went 11-5 at neutral sites. 
• The Mules are off to a 2-1 start in neutral site games in 2020.
• UCM went 3-4 in neutral site games in 2018
• The Mules are 36-23 in neutral site games under Crookes.

Runnin' With the Mules
• Through seven games, the Mules are second in the MIAA with 15 stolen bases. They are also tied for the league lead with three triples. 
• Josh Schumacher is tied for third in the league with five stolen bases. 

Impressive Debuts
• Two Mule transfers have made their debuts this season to rave reviews. On the mound, Jordan Fowler hasn't allowed a run in 10 innings with 12 strikeouts. 
• At the plate, Dusty Stroup is hitting .350 with four doubles. 

Starting Success
• Mules starting pitchers have been supurb this season. They've allowed just two earned runs in 32.1 innings and three total runs.
• Both Mason Green and Jordan Fowler are yet to allow an earned run in their 10 innings of work. Green has struck out 14 while Fowler is up to a dozen punchouts.
• Jonathan Sprinkle threw the first five innings in UCM's 9-0 win in the series finale against Arkansas Tech with sixk strikeouts. He has 10 in 7.1 innings.
• With 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings, the Mules are 26th in the nation.
• The Mules are third in Division II in hits allowed per nine innings at 5.02.

Defense First
• Central Missouri's defense has come a long way. Through seven games they have a .984 fielding percentage which ranks ninth in Division II and second in the MIAA. Of the eight teams in front of them though, six have played in fewer than five games.
• The Mules have committed four errors in seven games.

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 195-90 (.684) record now in his sixth season as head coach at Central Missouri.
• In 2016, he won his first conference championship as head coach at UCM. He added a tournament title in 2018 and his second regular season championship in 2019.
• Crookes is up to four MIAA Championships, two regular season and two tournament following 2019.
• He also has two regional championships to his credit in 2016 and 2019.
• During his five+ seasons at the helm, 52 players have earned All-MIAA honors, including 11 First Team nods and Player of the Year Erik Webb in 2019. Ten players have earned All-Region honors, three All-American and three players have been selected in the MLB Draft.
• 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 2020 season marks the 64th in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 1,954-776-9 (.715) record in 2,739 games played.
• The Mules have won 40 or more games 19 times, including 14 straight seasons from 1999-2012, and have won 50 or more games nine times.
• The Mules have won or shared 26 MIAA regular season championships, 23 MIAA tournament championships, captured 18 regional titles and two national championships.

Mules Baseball by the Numbers
• 30 NCAA Regional Appearances (23 of the last 26 years)
• 26 MIAA Regular Season Titles (18 of the last 26)
• 23 MIAA Tournament Titles (19 of the last 26)
• 18 Regional Championships
• 16 Regionals as host site
• 16 Top Five national finishes
• 5 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 30 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 923-265 (.777) since the year 2000. An average of 46 wins per season over the last 20 years.

A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics
• Central Missouri has won a combined 219 MIAA conference championships in 14 league sports entering 2019-20 to lead all schools.
• UCM has since added two more MIAA Championships trophies thus far in 2019-20 with the Mules Football and Jennies Soccer regular season titles.
• The Mules Baseball MIAA Tournament Championship in 2019 was their 23rd in program history along with 26 regular season, and they have now won back-to-back MIAA Tournament Championships. 
• In 2017-18, Central Missouri won two Naional Championships. Jennies Soccer won their first NCAA Division II National Championship with a 1-1 (5-3 PK) win over Carson-Newman. Jennies Basketball then 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.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 165 MIAA championships, more than any other league school entering the 2019-20 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 350 student-athletes named to the 2018-19 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 33 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.
• 23 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• 5 had student-athletes earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in their respective sports and 3 Academic All-Americans.
• All-time UCM is third in NCAA-II with 119 Academic All-Americans.
• Mason Janvrin became the sixth CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in 2019. 
• Before the NCAA Championship, Mason Janvrin was named the NCAA Elite 90 Award winner as the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the NCAA finals site.