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University of Central Missouri Athletics

Caleb Rogge
Stephen O'Brien

No. 4 Mules Set to Host Missouri Southern in MIAA Series April 8-10

Game 1: No. 4 Central Missouri (26-4, 19-1 MIAA) vs. Missouri Southern (23-12, 13-7 MIAA)
Friday, April 8 | 3 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
Radio: 1450 KOKO, 107.9 FM, 98.5 The BAR

Game 2: No. 4 Central Missouri vs. Missouri Southern
Saturday, April 9 | 1 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
Radio: 98.5 The BAR

Game 3: No. 4 Central Missouri vs. Missouri Southern
Sunday, April 10 | 1 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
Radio: 98.5 The BAR

UCM Stats (HTML) | 2022 UCM Record Book (PDF) | UCM Roster | Missouri Southern Stats | Missouri Southern Roster | CB News Poll | NCBWA Poll
UCM Probable Starting Pitchers vs. Washburn First Pitch
  • After rolling to a 13-4 victory over Drury in a non-conference game Wednesday, No. 4 Central Missouri Mules baseball (26-4, 19-1 MIAA) jumps back into MIAA action with a three-game series against Missouri Southern (23-12, 13-7 MIAA) April 8-10 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg. The series opener is slated for 3 p.m. Friday, April 8, with games two and three scheduled for 1 p.m. first pitches Saturday, April 9, and Sunday, April 10.
  • UCM is ranked fourth in the latest NCBWA Division II poll and fifth in the most recent Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II poll. 
  • Through 30 games, Central Missouri is led at the plate by infielders John Prudhom (.349 avg., 37 H, 31 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 34 RBI, .698 SLG%, 19 BB, .459 OB%, 8 SB), Donovan Ditto (.333 avg., 25 H, 20 R, 4 2B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 8 BB, 5 SB) and Cole Moore (.313 avg., 30 H, 25 R, 6 2B, 3 HR, 17 RBI, .469 SLG%, 15 BB, .416 OB%, 5 SB), and outfielders Brennen van Breusegen (.393 avg., 35 H, 23 R, 3 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 27 RBI, .663 SLG%, 9 BB, .451 OB%, 4 SB), Michael Chrisman (.346 avg., 37 H, 34 R, 4 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, .542 SLG%, 13 BB, .429 OB%, 7 SB) and Garrett Pennington (.326 avg., 29 H, 22 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 15 RBI, 3 SB).
  • On the mound, UCM is paced by starting RHP Collin Jones (6-0, 2.05 ERA, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 44.0 IP, 35 H, 13 R, 10 ER, 9 BB, 33 SO), and relievers Conner Wolf (3-0, 1.02 ERA, 17.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 23 SO), Ethan Peterson (2-0, 2.60 ERA, 1 SV, 1 SHO, 17.1 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 19 SO), Caleb Rogge (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 1 SV,  13.1 IP, 15 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 12 SO) and Brady Gavin (3-1, 1.17 ERA, 3 SV, 15.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 15 SO). 
  • As a team, the Mules are hitting .320 while limiting opponents to a .220 batting average. Central Missouri has a team ERA of 3.67 and a team fielding percentage of .967.
  • In the latest MIAA team statistics, UCM leads the conference in pitching (3.67 ERA), is third in batting (.320 avg.) and fourth in fielding (.967). 
  • Jones leads the conference in pitching through eight starts with his 2.05 ERA and ranks second in wins and eighth in opposing batting average at .212. 
  • Gavin is tied for seventh in the conference with his three saves. 
  • van Breusegen is fifth in the MIAA in batting average at .393 while John Prudhom is in the top-10 in slugging percentage (9th at .698). 
Last Time Out for the Mules
  • Brennen van Breusegen homered twice, and Michael Chrisman and John Prudhom each homered once leading fourth-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball to a 13-4 victory over the Drury Panthers Wednesday, April 6, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
  • A redshirt sophomore from Columbia, Ill., van Breusegen went 2-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs while Chrisman went 2-for-3 with a homer, triple, two runs scored and an RBI, and Prudhom added a home run, a pair of runs driven in and three runs scored, leading Central Missouri at the plate.
  • UCM reliever Tyler Rardin (3-0) earned the victory on the mound after giving up no earned runs on no hits with a pair of strikeouts and a walk in an inning of work.
  • The Mules trailed, 4-2, before scoring five runs in the bottom of the third to gain a 7-4 lead. Chrisman hit a lead-off triple to right field before crossing home plate on a Drury wild pitch for the opening run of the inning. van Breusegen tied the game, 4-4, after crushing a 2-0 pitch to dead-center for his first home run of the game, prior to Harrison Schnurbusch belting an RBI double to left-center, scoring Prudhom for the go-ahead run. Aiden Watson roped an RBI double down the left field line, bringing in Schnurbusch, before crossing the plate on another Panther wild pitch for the 7-4 advantage.
  • Prudhom ballooned the UCM lead to 9-4 with one swing in the fourth, crushing a two-run homer deep to left field. It was his team-best 10th round-tripper of the season.
  • The Mules put an exclamation mark on the game in the eighth, scoring four runs for the 13-4 lead. van Breusegen delivered the big hit of the frame, connecting on a 2-0 pitch for a three-run homer down the left field line. It was his fifth home run of the 2022. Prudhom scored on an error for the fourth run of the inning.
  • For the game, UCM outhit Drury, 10-4, and benefitted from five Panther errors.
Notable Streaks
  • Brennen van Breusegen has a team-high 18-game hitting streak going into the series against Missouri Southern.
  • van Breusegen has reached in his last 22 games -- a team-best.
Weekly Honors Fourth Inning Success
  • Through 30 games, the Mules are outscoring opponents in the fourth inning, 43-10. Other notable innings that UCM is outscoring adversaries in so far in 2022 include the first (39-21), second (35-16) and seventh (31-4).
Series History
  • The weekend series against the Missouri Southern Lions will mark meetings 114-116 in the all-time series. UCM leads the series, 88-25. Last season, Central Missouri swept Missouri Southern in a three-game series in Joplin, Mo., winning 5-2, 17-12 and 22-10. 
UCM During the Crookes Era
  • Kyle Crookes has a 282-103 (.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 29 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 2,041-789-9 record in 2,839 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 1,009-273 (.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
  • The Mules travel to Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Mo., for a 6 p.m. MIAA game Tuesday, April 12. 
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