Donovan Ditto (00) and Michael Chrisman (21)

Stephen O'Brien

Fourth-Ranked Mules Baseball Set for Tuesday Afternoon Tilt vs. Missouri Western

3/28/2022 2:36:00 PM

First Pitch

No. 4-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball (22-3, 16-0 MIAA) will look to increase its season-best winning streak to 18 games when it hosts the Missouri Western Griffons (5-20, 3-13 MIAA) in an MIAA game Tuesday afternoon, March 29, at 3 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg.
UCM is ranked fourth in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Poll and sixth in the most recent NCBWA Division II Poll entering the week.
Through 25 games, Central Missouri is led at the plate by infielders John Prudhom (.382 avg., 34 H, 24 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 31 RBI, .753 SLG%, 15 BB, .477 OB%, 5 SB), Harrison Schnurbusch (.325 avg., 27 H, 25 R, 7 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 23 RBI, .518 SLG%, 11 BB, .418 OB%, 8 SB), Donovan Ditto (.323 avg., 20 H, 15 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 7 BB, 2 SB) and Cole Moore (.321 avg., 27 H, 22 R, 6 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, .500 SLG%, 15 BB, .424 OB%, 4 SB), and outfielder Michael Chrisman (.348 avg., 32 H, 29 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 11 BB, .500 SLG%, .431 OB%, 6 SB).
On the mound, UCM is paced by starting RHP Collin Jones (5-0, 1.89 ERA, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 38.0 IP, 30 H, 11 R, 8 ER, 9 BB, 30 SO), and relievers Tyler Kotsis (3-0, 0.00 ERA, 14.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 10 SO), Conner Wolf (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 14.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 18 SO), Ethan Peterson (2-0, 3.14 ERA, 1 SHO, 14.1 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 18 SO), Caleb Rogge (1-0, 3.48 ERA, 1 SV, 10.1 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 10 SO) and Brady Gavin (2-1, 1.35 ERA, 2 SV, 13.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 12 SO).
As a team, the Mules are hitting .333 while limiting opponents to a .209 batting average. Central Missouri has a team ERA of 3.51 and a team fielding percentage of .966.
In the latest MIAA team statistics, UCM leads the conference in pitching (3.29 ERA) and batting (.339 avg.) and fourth in fielding (.966).
Jones leads the conference in pitching through seven starts with his 1.89 ERA and ranks sixth in opposing batting average at .211.
Brennen van Breusegen is fourth in the MIAA in batting average at .418 while Prudhom is ninth at .367. van Breusegen also ranks in the top-10 in on-base percentage (.481), while Prudhom is also in the top-10 in slugging percentage (6th at .753), RBIs (10th with 31) and home runs (10th with nine).

Last Time Out for the Mules

Isaiah Pani hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie and help No. 6 Central Missouri Mules baseball defat Rogers State, 5-4, Sunday afternoon, March 27, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
With the victory, the Mules extended their winning streak to 17 games and notched their fifth straight series sweep over and opponent.
With the game knotted, 4-4, in the bottom of the eighth, Jack Schark hit a one-out single through the left side to get on base before Pani followed with what proved to be the game-winning hit, plating Schark on a triple down the right field line for the 5-4 advantage.
Pani finished 2-for-3 with his triple and two RBIs while Schark went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and John Prudhom and Garrett Pennington each hit doubles, pacing Central Missouri at the plate.
UCM reliever Josh Bortka (2-0) earned the victory on the mound after tossing a scoreless and hitless eighth inning with two strikeouts and no walks. Brady Gavin secured his third save of 2022, throwing a hitless top of the ninth with a strikeout and zero walks.

Notable Streaks

John Prudhom is on a team-best 18-game hitting streak going into Tuesday's game. Brennen van Breusegen has a 13-game hitting streak while Donovan Ditto is on a seven-game hitting streak.
Prudhom has reached base safely in each of his last 22 games -- a team-best -- while van Breusegen has reached in his last 17 games. Ditto and Michael Chrisman has both reached base in their last 14 contests, and Garrett Pennington has reached in his last 11 games.

Weekly Honors

The MIAA announced its eighth Baseball Athletes of the Week, presented by Mammoth Turf, for the 2022 season Monday, March 28. Fourth-ranked Central Missouri swept this week's honors with John Prudhom selected as the MIAA Hitter of the Week and Brady Gavin named the MIAA Pitcher of the Week.

Fourth Inning Success

Through 25 games, the Mules are outscoring opponents in the fourth inning, 37-4. Other notable innings that UCM is outscoring adversaries in so far in 2022 include the first (37-14) and seventh (28-4). The only inning the Mules have been outscored in this season is the third (26-23).

Series History

Tuesday's tussle with the Griffons will be the 159th meeting in the all-time series. UCM leads the series, 121-37, after defeating Missouri Western earlier this season on March 16 in St. Joseph, Mo., 6-2.

UCM During the Crookes Era

Kyle Crookes has a 278-102 (.732) record now in his eighth season as head coach at Central Missouri.
Crookes is currently third all-time in coaching wins at UCM and is the fifth head coach to ever win 200 games. Crookes is 33 wins behind the second winningest coach in program history, Tom Myers, who went 311-91 (.774) in seven seasons as the Mules' head coach from 2008-2014.
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 four 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 2022 season marks the 66th in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 2,037-788-9 record in 2,834 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, 14 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)
14 MIAA Tournament Titles
19 Regional Championships
17 Regionals as host site
16 Top Five national finishes
5 Third place finishes
2 National Runners Up finishes
2 National Championships

Quick Hits

Central Missouri totaled 46 wins in 2021. The Mules have won at least 30 games in all seven full seasons under Coach Crookes. They won 20 of 23 games in 2020 before the season was cut short.
The team made their 19th trip to the NCAA-II World Series in 2021.
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 (2018, 2019, 2021).

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 2020s.
The Mules are 1,005-272 (.787) 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.

Up Next

Central Missouri heads to Topeka, Kan., for a three-game MIAA series at Washburn April 1-3.

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Fourth-Ranked Mules Baseball Set for Tuesday Afternoon Tilt vs. Missouri Western

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