WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 16, 2021) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball has the chance to do something they've rarely done before. With a win in their next game, UCM will reach 20 straight wins, something they've done just eight previous times.
Opponent
Central Oklahoma Bronchos (15-11, 10-8 MIAA)
Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium / Tompkins Field
When
Saturday-Sunday April 17-18
On The Air
This weekend's games can be heard live on 98.5 The Bar and streaming online at www.warrensburgradio.com
First Pitch
• Central Missouri returns home for the first of six straight games over the next two weekends. First up is Central Oklahoma Saturday-Sunday April 17-18.
• Last weekend, the Mules swept Pittsburg State as they finished their road trip at 6-0 and picked up their 19th straight win.
• 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 Central Oklahoma, the Mules are 33-22.
• The two teams last met in 2019 playing six times - three in the regular season and three in the postseason. The Bronchos got the better of UCM in the regular season winning two of three in Warrensburg, but the Mules won once during the MIAA Tournament and twice during the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
• Under Coach Crookes, the Mules are 12-10 against UCO.
Central Oklahoma
• Central Oklahoma is in the middle of the MIAA standings with a 10-8 record. They are 15-11 overall and have won three straight games. The Bronchos have won their last two MIAA series, taking two of three from both Washburn and Northwest Missouri.
• On the road this season, UCO is 5-5.
• The biggest hitter in the Broncho lineup is Kyle Crowl. He's hit nine home runs and driven in 28 runs. Crowl is slugging .733 and also had seven doubles and a triple.
• Garrett Takamatsu is among the MIAA leaders hitting .408 for the season. He's got four home runs and 20 runs batted in with a .520 on base percentage.
• UCO has the second best fielding percentage in the MIAA at .974.
• Four pitchers have started at least five games this season for the Bronchos. Luke Anderson leads the staff with 38.2 innings pitched and 44 strikeouts. He has a 3.72 ERA.
• Brayden Nelson is 5-0 on the season with a team-best 2.93 ERA in 27.2 innings. He's started five games and appeared out of the bullpen in five more.
Individual Milestones
•
Erik Webb is third all-time in hits. He stands at 298, and is 8 behind second place, 14 behind the all-time record. He set the all-time MIAA career home run record last weekend hitting his 53rd and now has 57. He is also the Mules all-time leader with 19 career triples. He is now second at UCM in RBI with 210 and just 4 behind the UCM record. With 236 runs scored, Webb is second all-time.
•
Mason Green is nine strikeouts away from 200 in his career. He'd be just the sixth Mule to ever strike out 200 career batters. He is currently eighth all-time at UCM and three strikeouts behind sixth.
•
Collin Jones is four strikeouts away from reaching 150.
•
Dusty Stroup needs four more home runs to get into the Mules all-time top-10.
• Four more hits will get
Alex Madera to 150. He also needs one more base to get to 200 total bases.
• One more out will get
Evan Rathburn to 50 innings pitched at UCM. With two more saves, he'll enter both the single-season and career top-10 lists.
•
Cole Taylor is six runs and four RBI away from 100 in 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
• 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 160-55 in conference play under
Kyle Crookes.
• UCM played just eight conference games in 2020 going 8-0. They are 20-1 to kick off 2021, scoring 11 runs per game.
Mules at Home
• Last season, UCM was 13-2 in 15 games played at home. They are off to a 10-2 start so far in 2021.
• UCM went 27-5 in 2019 when playing at Crane Stadium.
• Central Missouri is 122-25 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 861-169-1 (.836) 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 82-46 on the road under head coach
Kyle Crookes.
• Central Missouri has started out 11-1 on the road in 2021. They are averaging more than 11 home runs per game with 35 home runs, nearly three home runs per game.
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.
Mules Winning Streak
• Central Missouri has won 19 straight games dating back to Feb. 27. It's their longest winning streak since 2011.
• Eight times in their history the Mules have won 20 or more straight games. They won 27 straight in 1996. Of the eight 20+ win streaks, six of them were stopped at 21.
Do It With Two
• Central Missouri has been getting plenty of production with two-outs in an inning. They're hitting .311 and have 74 two-out RBI.
Garrett Pennington has been especially adept at extending innings. He's 9-18 with two outs while
Dusty Stroup leads the team with 14 two-out RBI.
• Mule pitchers are holding opponents to just a .246 batting average with two outs.
Hunter Little has been the arm to get the Mules out of jams. He's given up just 2 hits in 15 at bats with two outs.
UCM During the Crookes Era
•
Kyle Crookes has a 234-95 (.711) 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 23 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 1,993-781-9 (.718) record in 2,783 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 963-267 (.783) 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.
• Central Missouri Jennies Basketball added the first NCAA Regional Championship in 2020-21, their 8th in team history as they advanced to the Final 4.
• 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.
