No. 1 Seed Mules Face No. 5 Seed Washburn in MIAA Tournament Semifinals Thursday

UCM Probable Starting Pitcher vs. Washburn

RHP Collin Jones (9-0, 3.17 ERA, 59 SO, 14 BB, 71.0 IP)

First Pitch

Top-seeded Central Missouri Mules baseball (39-6) is scheduled to face the No. 5-seeded Washburn Ichabods (31-18) in game one of the MIAA Baseball Championship presented by Mammoth Sports Construction double-elimination tournament semifinals Thursday, May 12, at noon in Edmond, Okla., at Wendell Simmons Field on the University of Central Oklahoma campus.
Central Missouri advanced to the tournament semis after sweeping No. 8 seed Emporia State in the best-of-three first round series, 2-0, while Washburn swept No. 4 seed Central Oklahoma, 2-0.
The Mules clinched their 28th MIAA Regular Season Championship and the top seed in the MIAA Baseball Championships after sweeping Pittsburg State in an MIAA series April 14-16 in Warrensburg. UCM finished the regular season with an MIAA record of 30-3.
UCM is ranked No. 1 in the second NCAA-II Central Regional rankings released Wednesday, May 4. The top two teams in the final regional rankings released on the NCAA-II Baseball Championship Selection Show May 15 will host four-team, sub-regionals of the NCAA-II Central Region tournament. The top eight teams in the final rankings will qualify for the Central Region tournament.
Central Missouri is ranked No. 2 in the most recent Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II poll and checks in at No. 4 in the latest NCBWA Division II rankings.
Through 45 games, Central Missouri is led at the plate by infielders John Prudhom (.377 avg., 63 H, 55 R, 10 2B, 1 3B, 15 HR, 57 RBI, .719 SLG%, 27 BB, .471 OB%, 13 SB), Cole Moore (.371 avg., 46 H, 33 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 26 RBI, .548 SLG%, 19 BB, .473 OB%, 6 SB) and Harrison Schnurbusch (.314 avg., 44 H, 41 R, 11 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 40 RBI, .557 SLG%, 15 BB, .401 OB%, 11 SB), catcher Isaiah Pani (.395 avg., 32 H, 25 R, 4 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 28 RBI, .708 SLG%, 6 BB, .479 OB%), and outfielders Brennen van Breusegen (.454 avg., 69 H, 49 R,11 2B, 3 3B, 13 HR, 59 RBI, .822 SLG%, 15 BB, .500 OB%, 15 SB), Michael Chrisman (.347 avg., 60 H, 58 R, 6 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 42 RBI, .526 SLG%, 22 BB, .422 OB%, 13 SB) and Garrett Pennington (.368 avg., 53 H, 39 R, 16 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 37 RBI, .653 SLG%, 6 BB, .423 OB%, 3 SB).
On the mound, UCM is paced by starting RHP Collin Jones (9-0, 3.17 ERA, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 71.0 IP, 63 H, 28 R, 25 ER, 14 BB, 59 SO), and relievers Conner Wolf (3-1, 3.27 ERA, 22.0 IP,15 H, 11 R, 8 ER, 9 BB, 26 SO), Ethan Peterson (4-0, 2.36 ERA, 1 SV, 1 SHO, 26.2 IP, 17 H, 10 R, 7 ER, 6 BB, 28 SO), Caleb Rogge (2-0, 2.20 ERA, 1 SV, 16.1 IP, 16 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 14 SO) and Brady Gavin (3-1, 0.78 ERA, 6 SV, 23.0 IP, 11 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 27 SO).
As a team, the Mules are hitting .352 while limiting opponents to a .229 batting average. Central Missouri has a team ERA of 3.81 and a team fielding percentage of .973.
In the latest MIAA team statistics, UCM leads the conference in pitching (3.81 ERA), batting (.352 avg.) and fielding (.973).
Van Breusegen leads the conference in batting average at .454 and slugging percentage at .822, and ranks in the top-10 in on-base percentage (2nd at .500) and RBIs (6th with 59).
Jones is second in the conference in pitching through 13 starts with his 3.17 ERA and ranks first in wins (9), while Gavin is tied for fourth in saves (6).
Moore is 10th in the MIAA in batting average at .371 and ranks in the top-10 in on-base percentage (7th at .473), while Prudhom ranks in the top-10 in batting average (7th at .377), slugging percentage (5th at .719), on-base percentage (8th at .471), RBIs (T8th with 57) and homers (T8th with 15).
Chrisman is tied for fourth in the conference with his five triples, while Schnurbusch is tied for ninth with four three-baggers, and Pani is fourth in batting average (.395), fifth in on-base percentage (.479) and seventh in slugging percentage (.704).

National Leaders

In the latest NCAA-II national statistics, Brennen van Breusegen ranks second with his .455 batting average and 15th with a .821 slugging percentage, and Collin Jones is 14th with his nine victories on the mound.
As a team, the Mules rank fifth in batting average (.352), 12th in ERA (3.51) and 16th in fielding percentage (.973). UCM leads NCAA-II in win-loss percentage at .867.

Last Time Out for the Mules

No. 4-ranked and top-seeded Central Missouri Mules baseball scored 13 unanswered runs to turn a three-run deficit into a 15-5, seven-inning victory over the No. 8-seeded Emporia State Hornets in the first round of the MIAA Baseball Championship, presented by Mammoth Sports Construction, Saturday, May 7, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
Central Missouri broke the game wide open with an offensive surge in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring 11 runs on 11 hits and two errors to gain a 13-2 advantage. UCM added a run in the sixth and seventh to end the game via the 10-run rule.
Brennen van Breusegen went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs while Garrett Pennington added a 3-for-5 performance with a triple, his seventh homer of the season, and four RBIs, and Michael Chrisman went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs batted in, pacing the Mules at the plate in the contest.
John Prudhom, Harrison Schnurbusch, Donovan Ditto and Chase Heath each compiled two hits, while Jacob Steele posted one hit.
Central Missouri reliever Tyler Kotsis (4-0) earned the win on the mound, giving up no earned runs on no hits with one strikeout and one walk in 1 2/3 innings.

Notable Streaks

Garrett Pennington is one a team-best 14-game hitting streak going into Thursday's game vs. Washburn. Jack Schark has at least one hit in his last nine games.
Pennington has reached base in his last 14 consecutive games while Schark has successfully gotten on-base in his last 12 contests, and Isaiah Pani and John Prudhom has each reached in their last eight contests.

All-MIAA Honors Abound for Mules

Brennen van Breusegen was named the MIAA Co-Player of the Year and head coach Kyle Crookes was tabbed the Coach of the Year as the MIAA Regular Season Champion Central Missouri Mules baseball team had 13 student-athletes earn All-MIAA postseason accolades for the 2022 season.
Van Breusegen, an outfielder, and pitcher Collin Jones were voted unanimous First Team All-MIAA honorees while designated hitter Garrett Pennington was also voted to the first team.
Outfielder Michael Chrisman, infielders John Prudhom and Harrison Schnurbusch, and relief pitcher Brady Gavin all earned Second Team All-MIAA accolades, and relief pitcher Harrison Babbitt and infielder Cole Moore received Third Team All-MIAA honors.
Catcher Isaiah Pani, infielders Donovan Ditto and Jacob Steele, and outfielder Sam Tatum were selected Honorable Mention All-MIAA. Jones and Chrisman were both named to the conference's Gold Glove Team, rounding out the All-MIAA honors for the Mules.

Previous MIAA Weekly Honors

MIAA Hitter of the Week: John Prudhom, March 28; Brennen van Breusegen, April 11, 18
MIAA Pitcher of the Week: Brady Gavin, March 28; Collin Jones, April 18

Previous Regional/National Weekly Awards

NCBWA Division II National Hitter of the Week: Brennen van Breusegen, April 20
NCBWA Division II Central Region Hitter of the Week: Brennen van Breusegen, April 20

Fourth Inning Success

Through 45 games, the Mules are outscoring opponents in the fourth inning, 70-18. Other notable innings that UCM is outscoring adversaries in so far in 2022 include the first (75-37), second (62-24) and seventh (52-7).

Series History

Thursday's MIAA semifinal game against Washburn will mark meeting 117 in the all-time series and the fourth meeting in 2022. UCM faced Washburn earlier this season in a three-game series in Topeka, Kan., winning games one and three, 9-3 and 5-3, and losing game two, 15-4 in seven innings. The Mules haven't faced the Ichabods in the MIAA tournament since 2016, going 1-1 against Washburn with a 2-1 loss in 11 innings and a 16-8 victory.

UCM During the Crookes Era

Kyle Crookes has a 295-105 (.738) 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 16 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 seven MIAA Championships, four 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, 76 players have earned All-MIAA honors, including 21 First Team nods and Players of the Year in Erik Webb in 2019, Dusty Stroup in 2021 and Brennen van Breusegen in 2022. 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 2,054-791-9 record in 2,854 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 28 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)
28 MIAA Regular Season Titles (20 of the last 28)
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 eight 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 1,022-275 (.788) 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.