Mules Open Conference Play This Weekend

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 27, 2020) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball continues their homestand this weekend as they open up MIAA play against a brand new conference opponent.

Opponent
Rogers State Hillcats (9-4, 0-0 MIAA)

Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field

When
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 28 - March 1
Friday, Feb. 28 - 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 29 - 2 p.m.
Sunday, Mar. 1 - 1 p.m.

On the Air
• Live stats for all games will be available at www.ucmathletics.com
• All three games will be streaming live at www.warrensburgradio.com. Friday and Sunday's games can be heard on both 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO with Bob Jackson calling the action live from Crane Stadium. Saturdays's game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO.
• Friday night's game will be streamed live on the MIAA Network on the UCM Blueframe Portal at www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules

First Pitch
• Central Missouri is in the midst of a 15-game homestand continuing this week against Rogers State.
• The Mules went 3-0 last week against Concordia-St. Paul and are 9-2 so far during the homestand.
• These games are the first MIAA games of 2020. Last year, the Mules went 24-9 during conference play and won both the MIAA regular season and tournament. 
• 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 Championship. 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.

The Series
• This is the first ever meeting between the Mules and Rogers State.
• Rogers State is new to the MIAA in 2020. 

Rogers State
• What fans should know about Rogers State is they are a successful program with four straight winning seasons.
• In their final year in the Heartland Conference, they won the conference tournament and advanced to the South Central Regional where they went 2-1.
• They are off to another good start this season at 9-4 and were picked to finish sixth in the MIAA Preseason Poll.
• The Hillcats have been getting great pitching with a staff ERA of 3.42. Jackson Simonsgaard is 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA in 20 innings with 22 strikeouts.
• Rogers State hasn't walked many this season, just 30 in 100 innings pitched.
• Offensively, the team is hitting .290 though for little power
• Of their 108 hits, they have 24 doubles, two triples and four home runs for a .397 team slugging percentage.
• Nick Follet has been their biggest run-producer with a .349 average, six doubles, two home runs and 17 runs batted in.
• Mason Harvey is hitting .422 with a .509 on-base percentage and 17 runs scored.
• RSU has been sound defensively with a .976 team fielding percentage. They have just 10 errors in 13 games played.

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 six hits away from 100.
• Erik Webb is tied for ninth all-time in hits. He stands at 240, one off of eighth place and seven behind seventh place. Webb is currently tied for second in career doubles with 61, just five off the all-time mark. He is just one triple away from the UCM career record and needs three more home runs to tie the UCM record. He is now ninth at UCM in RBI and eight behind eighth place. 
• Alex Madera needs one more RBI to get to 50 and three hits for 100.
• Collin Jones is one win away from 10.
• Evan Rathburn needs eight more strikeouts for 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 67-35 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' five-plus seasons.
• UCM is 11-3 in non-conference action to start 2020. 

Mules in MIAA Play
• The Mules won the MIAA with a 24-9 record in 2019. It was 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 108-23 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 847-167-1 (.836) in 1,014 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.

National Leaders
• As a team, the Mules rank seventh in the country with a 2.11 ERA and their 1.01 WHIP is sixth-best.
• The four shutouts the Mules have thrown are tied for the Division II lead.
• UCM has stolen 32 bases, eighth most in Division II.
• The Mules have knocked 10 three-baggers for a share of the D2 lead. Cole Taylor has picked up three of the 10 and shares the NCAA individual lead.
• Dusty Stroup is second in the NCAA in doubles with nine, just one off the national leader. 

Starting Success
• Mules starting pitchers have been supurb this season. They've allowed just eight earned runs in 56 innings for a 1.29 ERA. 
• Mason Green is yet to allow an earned run in 15 innings and has struck out 45.
• Jordan Fowler has a 1.20 ERA and Collin Jones a 1.80 ERA. Jones struckout a career-high 11 against Mary last weekend.
• Jonathan Sprinkle is racking up the strikeouts. Through 11 innings, he has 18 which which is an average of 14.7 per nine innins. 
• With 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, the Mules are 9th in the nation.
• The Mules are also ninth in Division II in hits allowed per nine innings at 6.07

Defense First
• Central Missouri's defense has come a long way. Through 14 games they have a .981 fielding percentage which ranks 10th in Division II and second in the MIAA. 
• The Mules' 11 double plays turned is ranked 11th in Division II. 

Scoring Early
• The Mules have scored 10 runs in the first inning so far this season, their most in any inning. They have scored in the opening inning in six of 14 games and are 4-2 when scoring in the first.
• In all eight wins, the Mules put the first run on the board. 
• In the first three innings, UCM has scored a total of 36 runs.
• On the flip side, UCM pitchers have allowed zero first-inning runs and just five total runs in the first three innings. 

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 201-91 (.688) record now in his sixth season as head coach at Central Missouri.
• Crookes is currently fifth all-time in coaching wins at UCM and is the fifth head coach to ever win 200 games. Crookes is currenly eight wins behind Darin Hendrickson for fourth 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 1,960-777-9 (.715) record in 2,746 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 926-265 (.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 220 MIAA conference championships in 14 league sports entering 2019-20 to lead all schools.
• UCM has since added three more MIAA Championships trophies thus far in 2019-20 with the Mules Football, Jennies Soccer and Jennies Basketball 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 National 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.