Mules Set to Begin Division II College Baseball World Series Saturday

CARY, N.C. (June 3, 2021) - We're just two days away from the start of the NCAA Division II College Baseball World Series. The Mules are the No. 1 seed in the double-elimination tournament after sweeping their way through the Central Region Championship with a 4-0 record.

Teams
No. 1 Central Missouri Mules (43-6, 30-3 MIAA) - Central Region Champions
No. 2 Seton Hill Griffons (38-6, 23-4 PSAC) - Atlantic Region Champions
No. 3 Angelo State Rams (42-7, 25-5 Lone Star) - South Central Region Champions
No. 4 Trevecca Nazarene (36-11, 23-5 GMAC) - Midwest Region Champions
No. 5 Tampa Spartans (20-4, 15-3 SSC) - South Region Champions
No. 6 Wingate Bulldogs (34-12, 20-10 SAC) - Southeast Region Champions
No. 7 Southern New Hampshire Penmen (28-7, 19-5 NE10) - East Region Champions
No. 8 Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks (34-8, 21-3 GNAC) - West Region Champions

Opponent
Northwest Nazarane Nighthawks (34-8, 21-3 GNAC)

When
Saturday, June 5, 2021 - 6 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CT

Where
Cary, N.C - USA Baseball Training Complex

How to Watch
• All games of the Division II College Baseball World Series will be aired live for free at www.ncaa.com. Bob Jackson will have the call on radio at 98.5 The Bar, 1450 KOKO and www.warrensburgradio.com

Tickets
• There is not a capacity number for the stadium and all fans will get in for free!

First Pitch
• Central Missouri is back in the NCAA Division II World Series for the 19th time in program history after winning the Central Region Championship at home in Warrensburg. They are 9-0 thus far in 2021 in postseason games. 
• The Mules have won the MIAA regular season for the 27th time in program history and picked up their 24th MIAA Tournament Championship. 
• 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-to-back MIAA Tournament Championships in 2018, 2019 and 2021 and two straight MIAA Regular Season Championships in 2019 and 2021.
• The last time the Mules won three straight MIAA Tournament's was 2010-12. 

The Series
• Not only is this the first time the Mules have ever played the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders, it's the first time they've ever played a team from the state of Idaho. Following the game Saturday, they'll have played teams from 35 different states. 

Northwest Nazarene
• Northwest Nazarene plays in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference where they went 21-3 this season. They're 34-8 on the season. NNU played in just a three-team West Regional. They dropped the first game and came back to win three straight to advance.
• Down to their last out, NNU trailed 5-2 with two outs and noone on base. They stunned Western Oregon by blasting a game-tying and game-winning home run to keep their season alive. 
• The NNU offense is led by NCBWA All-American outfield Grant Kerry. He's hitting .359 this season with 11 home runs and 49 runs batted in.
• The Nighthawk offense overall is hitting .299. John Gonzalez leads the team with 17 homers. 
• On the mound, NNU has a 4.40 team ERA. Kyle Ethridge has been their number one starter with a 6-1 record and 3.39 ERA. He's fanned 86 in 63.2 innings. Blake McFadden and Max Holtzclaw have been a formidble duo out of the bullpen. Holtzclaw has a 2.31 ERA and five saves. McFadden has a 1.98 ERA with 30 strkeouts. 

Individual Milestones
• Erik Webb is now the Mules all-time leader in hits, doubles, triples, home runs, and RBI. With 252 runs scored, Webb is second all-time at UCM. 
• Mason Green is second all-time at UCM with 247 strikeouts and is 30 behind first place. He's also second in single-season strikeouts with 108, 21 behind the UCM record. At 25-0, he has the most wins without a loss in Mules history and the 8th most all-time wins.  
• Collin Jones is four strikeouts away from the UCM top-10 all-time. 
• Dusty Stroup is tied for third in single season and fifth in career home runs. 
• Evan Rathburn is tied for 8th in career and single-season saves. 
• Conor Dryer is 1.2 innings away from 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. 
• 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.
• During postseason play this season, UCM is 9-0.
• 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
• At Crane Stadium in 2021, Central Missouri was 24-3 (two of those games they were the visiting team on the scoreboard)
• Last season, UCM was 13-2 in 15 games played at home.
• Central Missouri is 136-26 at home under Crookes.
• The Mules are 875-170-1 (.837) in 1,046 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 NCAA Regional games in 2019 and 2021. 

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 6-1 in 2021 after going 3-0 at the MIAA Tournament.
• The Mules are 39-24 in neutral site games under Crookes.

2,000 Wins
• Earlier this season, 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 .319 and have 134 two-out RBI. Dusty Stroup leads the team with 23 two-out RBI. Garrett Pennington, Josh Schumacher and Donovan Ditto are hitting over .400 with two outs with at least 20 at bats. 

Streaking Mules
• Micah Evans has the current longest Mule reached base streak. He's gotten on base in 41 straight games. The longest single-season reached base streak in Mules history is 57 straight games in 2010 by Chance Tuttle. Mason Janvrin reached base in 68 straight games between the 2018 and 2019 seasons. 
• The Mules are currently riding a 13-game winning streak. It's their second-longest of the season. They won 24 straight games from Feb. 28 - April 25. 

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 second in the country.
• In their last 29 games, UCM has committed an error in just nine of them and 11 total errors. 

UCM During the Crookes Era
• Kyle Crookes has a 253-97 (.723) 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 5 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 and tournament championship.
• Crookes is up to six MIAA Championships, three regular season and three tournament.
• He also has three regional championships to his credit in 2016, 2019 and 2021.
• During his six+ seasons at the helm, 63 players have earned All-MIAA honors, including 18 First Team nods and Players of the Year in Erik Webb in 2019 and Dusty Stroup in 2021. 16 players have earned All-Region honors, six 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 2,012-783-9 (.719) record in 2,804 games played.
• The Mules have won 40 or more games 20 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, 24 MIAA tournament championships, captured 19 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)
• 24 MIAA Tournament Titles (20 of the last 27)
• 19 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 982-269 (.785) 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 five more. 
• The 1st MIAA trophies of 2020-21 were handed out at the MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Jennies won their 9th 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 and Jennies won the MIAA Softball Tournament earlier this May. The Mules capped it off with another MIAA Baseball Tournament Championship.  
• 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. Mules Baseball picked up regional championship number 19 this year.  
• The Mules Baseball MIAA Tournament Championship in 2019 was their 23rd in program history along with 26 regular season, and they have now three straight 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 174 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 and most recently, 2020-21 to earn four of the last five. 

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.