WARRENSBURG, Mo. (May 12, 2021) - Central Missouri Mules Baseball starts the postseason this weekend in the MIAA Tournament opening round best-of-three series.

Opponent
Emporia State Hornets (17-23, 13-20 MIAA)

When
Thursday-Saturday, May 13-15
Thursday, May 13 - 4 p.m.
Friday, May 14 - 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 15 - 1 p.m. (if necessary) 

Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field

On the Air
• All games will be aired for free on the MIAA Network at themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules. Fans can also listen to Bob Jackson on 98.5 The Bar and streaming online at warrensburgradio.com. Live stats will also be available for all games. 

Tickets
$5 - adults
$4 - seniors (60+)
$3 - youth (6-18)
UCM students with valid UCM student ID get in free!

First Pitch
• Central Missouri returns home for the start of the MIAA Tournament. The Mules host Emporia State in a best-of-three quarterfinal series. 
• The Mules have won the MIAA regular season for the 27th time in program history. They'll be going for another MIAA Tournament title with the finals taking place next weekend in Joplin, Mo. 
• 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 six 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 34 seasons. 
• The Mules have won back-to-back MIAA Tournament Championships and two straight MIAA Regular Season Championships in 2019 and 2021.

The Series
• All-time against Emporia State, the Mules are 116-53.
• The 116 wins are the most for the Mules against any non-Missouri school.
• UCM swept Emporia State earlier this season taking all three on the road.
• Against Emporia State, Kyle Crookes is 14-8.

Emporia State
• Emporia State finished the regular season as one of the hotter teams in the MIAA, playing their way into the MIAA Tournament. The Hornets won five of their last six to finish 13-20 in the MIAA.
• The Hornet offense is number 2 in the MIAA in terms of average and on-base percentage. ESU is hitting . 311 with a .393 on-base. 
• Cooper Minnick has been the Hornets best offensive player and was a finalist for the MIAA Player of the Year award. He's hitting .380 with a .483 on base with a team-high six home runs and 30 runs batted in.
• The Hornets have been swift on the bases stealing 77 bases, second-most in the MIAA.
• ESU's biggest hurdle has been catching the baseball. Their 63 errors lead the MIAA.
• On the mound, Jake Barton has started 12 games and thrown a team-best 64 innings. He's 7-4 with a 5.06 ERA and 72 strikeouts.
• Alex DeBey hasn't given up a run in eight innings. He missed all of April and returned in May.

Individual Milestones
• Erik Webb is tied for second all-time at UCM in hits. He stands at 311, and is 1 behind the all-time record. He set the all-time MIAA career home run record and RBI record earlier this season He is also the Mules all-time leader with 20 career triples and 76 doubles. With 246 runs scored, Webb is second all-time at UCM. The same UCM records Webb is chasing in career hits and runs are also MIAA records. 
• Mason Green is third all-time at UCM with 228 strikeouts and is 8 behind second place. With 11 more strikeouts, Green will be just the sixth Mule to strikeout 100 batters in a season. He's 40 behind the all-time mark. At 22-0, he has the most wins without a loss in Mules history and tied for 10th most all-time. 
• Conor Dryer is two strikeouts away from 100 for his career. 
• Dusty Stroup is tied for 8th all-time in career and tied for 4th in single season home runs. 
• Micah Evans needs five more hits to get to 100. 
• With one more save, Evan Rathburn will enter both the single-season and career top-10 lists. 
• Chase Plymell will reach 50 innings pitched with two more. 
• Alex Madera is 2 runs shy of 100. His nine triples are 2nd most at UCM in a season, 2 behind 2nd place.

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. 
• Grant Gavin was selected in the 29th round of the 2016 draft and will begin 2021 at the Kansas City Royals Triple A affiliate in Omaha, Neb. 

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 are 170-57 in conference play under Kyle Crookes.
• At 30-3 the Mules clinched their 27th MIAA regular season championship. It's the sixth time in team history they've won at least 30 conference games. 
• 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. 

Mules at Home
• Last season, UCM was 13-2 in 15 games played at home. They are off to an 18-3 start so far in 2021.
• UCM went 27-5 in 2019 when playing at Crane Stadium.
• Central Missouri is 130-26 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 869-170-1 (.836) in 1,040 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 84-47 on the road under head coach Kyle Crookes. 
• Central Missouri finished the regular season at 13-2 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.

2,000 Wins
• Two weeks ago Central Missouri won their 2,000th game as a program defeating NSU 6-5. The Mules are just the 3rd NCAA Division II Baseball team to reach 2,000 program wins joining Florida Southern & Delta St. 

Do It With Two
• Central Missouri has been getting plenty of production with two-outs in an inning. They're hitting .324 and have 119 two-out RBI. Dusty Stroup leads the team with 19 two-out RBI. Micah Evans, Alex Madera and Josh Schumacher are each hitting over .400 with two outs with at least 30 at bats. 
• Mule pitchers are holding opponents to just a .238 batting average with two outs. Hunter Little has been the arm to get the Mules out of jams. He's given up just 3 hits in 18 at bats with two outs. Opponents are 4-21 against both Tyler Kuhlmann and Evan Rathburn, a .190 average. 

Streaking Mules
• Micah Evans has the current longest Mule reached base streak. He's gotten on base in 32 straight games.
• Josh Schumacher has the Mules longest hitting streak at nine straight games. 

Defense First
• Central Missouri has turned themselves into an excellent defensive ballclub. The Mules are climbing up the NCAA rankings in fielding percentage and currently lead the MIAA and are third in the country.
• The Mules have made just seven errors in their last 20 games. 

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 244-97 (.716) 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 13 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. The 2021 season brought Crookes his third MIAA regular season championship.
• Crookes is up to five MIAA Championships, three regular season and two tournament.
• 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 2,003-783-9 (.718) record in 2,795 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 27 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)
• 27 MIAA Regular Season Titles (19 of the last 27)
• 23 MIAA Tournament Titles (19 of the last 26)
• 18 Regional Championships
• 17 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 973-269 (.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 223 MIAA conference championships in 14 league sports entering 2020-21 to lead all schools. They've since added three more. 
• 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. Mules Golf picked up their 23rd MIAA Championship trophy this spring. Baseball won their 27th regular season title to add to their collection. 
• 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 171 MIAA championships, more than any other league school during that time. 
• 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.