WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 6, 2020) - After kicking off the 2020 season last week, Central Missouri Mules Baseball returns home to Warrensburg for the start of a 15-game homestand. This weekend will be a four-game set with in-region opponent, Arkansas Tech.
Opponent
Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys (0-3)
Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium
When
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 7-9
Friday, Feb. 7, 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 8, 12 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, Feb. 9, 1 p.m.
First Pitch
• Central Missouri begins a 15-game homestand this weekend when they take on Arkansas Tech.
• The Mules and Wonder Boys both opened the 2020 campaign last week at the Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park where the Mules went 2-1.
• 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.
On the Air
• Games on Friday and Sunday will be broadcast on radio.Friday's game can be heard on 1450 KOKO AM and Sunday will be on both 1450 KOKO and 98.5 The Bar with
Bob Jackson calling the action.
• Live stats for all games will also be available at www.ucmathletics.com
The Series
• All time the Mules are 10-7 against Arkansas Tech.
• The team's met for a single game last year in Warrensburg that the Mules won 9-3.
• Central Missouri is 1-1 under Coach Crookes in five years against the Wonder Boys.
Arkansas Tech
• Like the Mules, Arkansas Tech also started their season at the Houston Winter Invitational.
• The Wonder Boys went 0-3 in their three games.
• Pitching was a problem as they allowed 19 earned runs in 25 innings pitched. They walked 20 batters and struck out 30.
• Starter Hayes Cox allowed just two earned runs in six innings pitched with seven strikeouts.
• Arkansas Tech's bullpen was taxed though as their other two starters did not make it to the third inning.
• Matthew Tieding and Armando Romero performed well in long relief combining for 10.2 innings and allowing three earned runs.
• The Wonder Boys offense didn't perform much better hitting just .214 in three games. They scored 11 runs on 22 hits with just two extra base hits.
• Evan Hafley did not struggle with six hits in 11 at bats in Houston. He hit a home run and drove in three runs while scoring three more. With his two walks he totaled a 61.5% on base percentage.
• Stormy Taylor was the only other Wonder Boy with more than two hits. He collected five, all singles with a run and a stolen base.
• When they reached base, ATU took advantage stealing five bases and were not thrown out.
• The Wonder Boys struck out 23 times and walked 11 times.
• In the field, Arkansas Tech committed just three errors and sport a .969 fielding percentage. They turned three double plays.
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 eight hits shy of cracking the UCM all-time top-10 in hits. He stands at 231. 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. Last weekend he broke into the career RBI top-10 with 160 and is two away from ninth place.
•
Alex Madera needs five more RBI to get to 50.
•
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 58-32 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' five-plus seasons.
• UCM is 2-1 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 this season when playing at Crane Stadium.
• The Mules went 24-4 in home games during the 2018 season.
• Central Missouri is 99-21 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 838-165-1 (.835) in 1,004 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 three games, the Mules have stolen an MIAA-best 12 bases. They also lead the league with three triples.
•
Josh Schumacher shares the conference lead with four stolen bases.
Impressive Debuts
• Two Mule transfers made their debuts last week to rave reviews. On the mound,
Jordan Fowler allowed one hit with eight strikeouts tossing five shutout innings.
• At the plate,
Dusty Stroup collected five hits in 12 at bats with two doubles.
UCM During the Crookes Era
•
Kyle Crookes has a 192-88 (.686) 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 1,951-775-9 (.715) record in 2,735 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 920-264 (.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.
