Baseball Season Starts in Houston

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 28, 2021) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball returns to Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros for the 2021 Houston Winter Invitational.

Opponents
Lubbock Christian Chaparrals
St. Mary's Rattlers
Arkansas Tech
Arkansas-Fort Smith

Where
Houston, Texas - Minute Maid Park

When
Friday - Saturday, Jan. 29-31
Friday, Jan. 29 vs. Lubbock Christian - 2 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 29 vs. Arkansas-Fort Smith - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 30 vs. St. Mary's - 2 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 30 vs. Arkansas Tech - 6 p.m.

Ticket Prices
Adults - $17
Youth (4-14) - $8
Children 3 and under are free when accompanied by a ticketed adult
Tickets will not be sold at the gate and can only be purchased online.

Fan Policy
Per City, ballpark and event regulations, all fans, staff and vendors must wear masks at all times while on property, except when actively eating and drinking. Socially-distanced tickets will be sold in singles, pairs, and groups of four. All fans will be subject to temperature checks upon arrival. Guests with pre-existing health conditions will be required to wear a face shield and get wrist banded at Fan Accommodations at Section 112. 

First Pitch
• Central Missouri is back on the field for the first time since March 12, 2020 this weekend at the Houston Winter Invitational.
• The Mules will play the 2 p.m. game each day in Houston taking on Lubbock Christian, St. Mary's and Texas A&M-Kingsville. 
• Last year the Mules went 2-1 in Houston winning games over Millersville and Colorado School of Mines.
• Last year, the Mules played just eight conference games and won them all before the season was shut down due to COVID-19. 
• 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 in 2019 The Mules have won at least 30 games in all five full seasons under Coach Crookes. They won 20 of 23 games in 2020 before the season was cut short. 
• The team made their first trip to the NCAA Division II World Series since 2016 in 2019 and their 18th overall.
• The Mules have finished with a winning record in each of the last 33 seasons. 
• The Mules have won back-to-back MIAA Tournament Championships.

The Series
• All-time the Mules are 5-2 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. The two teams met in Houston in 2018 and 2019 with the Javelinas winning in 2018 and the Mules in 2019. 
• UCM is 5-4 all-time against St. Mary's and 2-1 under Coach Crookes. The two teams have met in Houston three times under Coach Crookes. St. Mary's took the last meeting, 12-5 in 2019. 
• This will be the first all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Lubbock Christian. 

Lubbock Christian
• Lubbock Christian was picked to finish eight in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll. In 24 games in 2020, the Chaps went 7-17.
• The Chaps will be bringing back their top-five position players from a year ago based on total bases as well as their top-five leaders on the mound in strikeouts.
• This is the second season for the Chaps in the Lone Star Conference. 

St. Mary's
• In the 2021 preseason poll, St. Mary's was picked to finish fifth in the league standings. 
• The Ratter's finished 2020 with a 12-10 record, all in conference play and won six of their final seven games of the season. 
• The Rattler's top four hitters in the line up all return in CJ Ricondo, Johnny Hernandez, Josh Malone and Jake Mares. Malone drove in 21 runs and Ricondo picked up 26 hits.
• On the mound, St. Mary's top three starters also return in Dylan Bells, Zach De La Garza and Marcus Cortez. They combined for 17 of the Rattler's 22 starts. 

Individual Milestones
• Erik Webb is sixth all-time in hits. He stands at 252, and is nine behind fifth place. Webb is currently second in career doubles with 65, just one off the all-time mark. He is just one triple away from the UCM career record and set the all-time career home run record in the final game of 2020. He is now seventh at UCM in RBI with 178 and just one behind fifth place. He also needs just four more runs scored to reach 200 for his career, becoming the eighth Mule to ever reach that number. 
• Evan Rathburn needs three more strikeouts for 50 in his career.
• Harrison Schnurbusch needs one more RBI for 100. 
• Donovan Ditto is five hits away from reaching 100 for his career. 

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 in 2019.
• Following 2020, Mule pitchers Jordan Fowler, Jonathan Sprinkle and Evan Reifert all signed minor league free agent contracts with MLB clubs. 

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 68-35 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' five-plus seasons.
• UCM went 12-3 in nonconference games in 2020.
• The Mules have just seven nonconference games on their schedule for 2021. 

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 129-53 in conference play under Kyle Crookes.
• UCM played just eight conference games in 2020 going 8-0. 

Mules at Home
• Last season, UCM was 13-2 in 15 games played at home. 
• UCM went 27-5 in 2019 when playing at Crane Stadium.
• Central Missouri is 112-23 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 851-167-1 (.836) in 1,017 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 weren't on the road much in 2020, just five games, but they won all five averaging 18.2 runs per game. 
• The Mules are 71-45 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes. 

Mules in Neutral Site Games
• In 16 games in 2019, UCM went 11-5 at neutral sites. 
• The Mules went 2-1 in neutral site games in 2020.
• The Mules are 36-23 in neutral site games under Crookes.

Scoring Early
• The Mules scored 32 runs in the first inning in 2020. They scored in the opening inning in 12 of 21 games and are 10-2 when scoring in the first.
• In 17 of 20 wins last year, the Mules put the first run on the board. 
• In the first three innings, UCM scored a total of 85 runs.
• On the flip side, UCM pitchers have allowed 13 first-inning runs and just 25 total runs in the first three innings last season.  

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 210-91 (.698) record now in his seventh season as head coach at Central Missouri.
• Crookes is currently fourth all-time in coaching wins at UCM and is the fifth head coach to ever win 200 games. Crookes is currently 48 wins behind Bob Tompkins for third 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 six+ 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 2021 season marks the 65th in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 1,967-777-9 (.716) record in 2,753 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 939-263 (.781) since the year 2000. An average of almost 47 wins per season over the last 20 years, the most of any team in Division II. 

A Tradition of Excellence in Athletics
• Central Missouri has won a combined 223 MIAA conference championships in 14 league sports entering 2020-21 to lead all schools.
• 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 169 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 and the Commissioner's Cup for 2019-20 as well. 

A Tradition of Excellence in the Classroom
• Central Missouri had 275 student-athletes named to the 2019-20 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 31 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.
• 28 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• 4 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 122 Academic All-Americans.
• Mason Janvrin became the sixth CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in 2019. 
• Before the 2019 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.