WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 18, 2021) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball puts their seven game winning streak on the line this weekend as they travel to Emporia, Kan. for a three-game set with the Hornets.

Opponent
Emporia State Hornets (6-8, 3-6 MIAA)

Where
Emporia, Kan. - Trusler Sports Complex

When
Friday-Saturday - March 19-20
Friday - 4 p.m.
Saturday - 12 p.m. (DH)

First Pitch
• Central Missouri hits the road for the first time in three weeks for a three-game series at Emporia State Friday and Saturday. 
• Last weekend, the Mules completed a perfect 6-0 homestand going 3-0 against Fort Hays State after sweeping a three-game series with Newman the week before. 
• 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 against Emporia State, the Mules are 113-53.
• The 53 wins are the most for the Mules against any non-Missouri school.
• UCM and the Hornets last met in 2019 when the Mules went 2-1 at home including an 18-1 win in the final game of the series. 
• Against Emporia State, Kyle Crookes is 11-8

Emporia State
• Emporia State is 6-8 to start the season and 3-6 in MIAA games. After winning the first game of their series last weekend vs. Central Oklahoma, the Hornets dropped the next two.
• Despite their 6-8 record, the Hornets rank third in staff ERA in the MIAA at 3.90. Starters Jake Barton and Jared Kengott have done an excellent job of keeping runs off the board. Barton is 2-2 with a 1.50 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 24 innings. Kengott is just 1-3 but with a 2.66 ERA.
• Relief pitcher Alex DeBay is yet to allow an earned run in five appearances and seven innings.
• The offense has been led by Chanler Bloomer who's hittign .358 with 12 runs batted in and 12 runs scored. 
• Michel Brady is hitting .447 in 38 at bats which is third in the MIAA. 
• Quinn Cherry leads the team with three home runs and of his eight htis in 47 at bats, six have gone for extra bases. 
• Defense has been an achilles heel of the Hornets whose .945 fielding percentage is next to last in the MIAA. They've committed a league-high 26 errors in 14 games.

Individual Milestones
• Erik Webb is fifth all-time in hits. He stands at 273, and is one behind fourth place and two behind third place. Webb currently shares the all-time record for doubles with 66. He set the all-time career home run record in the final game of 2020 and has 50 for his career. With two more he'll tie the all-time MIAA mark. He is also the Mules all-time leader with 18 career triples. He is now fourth at UCM in RBI with 191 and just eight behind a tie for second place. With 209 runs scored, Webb is seventh and six behind sixth place. 
• Donovan Ditto is four hits away from reaching 100 for his career. 
• Mason Green will enter the UCM top-10 in strikeouts with 12 more.
• Tyler Kuhlmann is one strikeout away from 50. 
• With one more run scored Harrison Schnurbusch will reach 150. 
• Josh Schumacher is one hit away from 100 for his career. He's also two RBI away from 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 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
• Central Missouri had seven nonconference games on their schedule. They finished their slate with a 4-3 record.
• The Mules are 72-38 overall in non-conference action during Crookes' six-plus seasons.
• UCM went 12-3 in nonconference games in 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 137-54 in conference play under Kyle Crookes.
• UCM played just eight conference games in 2020 going 8-0. They are 8-1 to kick off 2021.  

Mules at Home
• Last season, UCM was 13-2 in 15 games played at home. They are off to a 7-2 start so far in 2021.
• UCM went 27-5 in 2019 when playing at Crane Stadium.
• Central Missouri is 119-25 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 858-169-1 (.835) in 1,028 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 73-46 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes. 
• Central Missouri has started out 2-1 on the road in 2021. 

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 and are 3-1 in 2021.
• The Mules are 39-24 in neutral site games under Crookes.
On the Base Paths
• The Mules have been playing aggressive on the bases all season long. They lead the MIAA with 37 stolen bases and 45 attempts
• Micah Evans leads the MIAA having stolen 10 bases and Dusty Stroup is right behind him having swiped nine in 10 attempts.

Scoring Early
• After uncharacteristically falling behind in all four games in Houston, the Mules have broken out of that habit in a big way. UCM has now scored 28 runs in the first inning and 73 of their 126 have been scored in the first four innings.
• When the Mules score first they are 7-1 this season. That record improves to 8-1 this year when scoring at least one run in the first inning. 

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 222-95 (.700) 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 36 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 1,981-781-9 (.717) record in 2,771 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 951-267 (.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 224 MIAA conference championships in 14 league sports entering 2020-21 to lead all schools.
• The first MIAA trophies of 2020-21 were handed out at the MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Jennies won their ninth in team history. 
• 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.