Midweek MIAA Tilt with Missouri Western Tuesday Up Next for Mules Baseball

Baseball | 3/13/2023 12:45:00 PM

• Central Missouri Mules baseball (15-7, 7-2 MIAA) is scheduled to return home to the friendly confines of Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field for an MIAA midweek game vs. the Missouri Western Griffons (4-13, 1-8 MIAA) Tuesday, March 14, at 3 p.m.
• The Mules, who have won 12 of their last 14 games, are coming of a 2-1, MIAA series victory at Emporia State March 10-12, winning games one and three, 10-4 and 10-2, and dropping game two, 3-2.
• Through 22 games, Central Missouri is led at the plate by outfielders Carter Young (.429 avg., 16 R, 33 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 16 RBI, .701 SLG%, 11 BB, .500 OB%, 3 SB) and Vance Tobol (.329 avg., 15 R, 26 H, 2 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 19 RBI, .620 SLG%, 8 BB, 3 SB), and infielders John Prudhom (.324 avg., 22 R, 24 H, 5 2B, 9 HR, 23 RBI, .757 SLG%, 6 BB, 5 SB) and Jack Schark (.349 avg., 13 R, 22 H, 2 2B, 10 RBI, 9 BB, 6 SB).
• On the mound with 22 games elapsed, UCM is paced by right-handers Conner Wolf (3.81 ERA, 3-2, 26.0 IP, 24 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 7 BB, 33 SO), JD McReynolds (0.00 ERA, 3-0, 13.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 24 SO), Wyatt Clark (1.50 ERA, 0-0, 4 SV, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO), Ethan Peterson (1.69 ERA, 2-0, 10.2 IP, 11 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO), Jake Wilson (4.40 ERA, 1-0, 14.1 IP, 15 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 6 BB, 15 SO) and Cole LaLonde (4.40 ERA, 0-0, 14.1 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 19 SO).
• As a team through 22 games, Central Missouri is hitting .314 while its opponents are hitting .228.UCM has a team ERA of 4.43 and a team fielding percentage of .967.
• In the latest MIAA statistics, the Mules are fourth in team batting (.314), second in team pitching (4.43 ERA) and fourth in team fielding (.967 fielding percentage).
• In the most recent MIAA individual statistics, Young leads the conference in batting average (.429), ranks sixth in on-base percentage (.500), eighth in hits (33) and 10th in slugging percentage (.701) while Prudhom is fifth in slugging (.757) and second in home runs (9), and Clark is third in saves (4). Wolf is also in the top-10 of the conference statistics through 22 games, ranking seventh in strikeouts at 33 and ninth in ERA at 3.81.

• Mason Lowe is on a team-high seven-game hitting streak entering Tuesday while Vance Tobol has a five-game hitting streak and Brett Grupe has hit safely in four straight contests.
• Young has reached base safely in a team-high 14 straight games while Max Holy has reached in his last 13 contests. Tobol, Brennen van Breusegen and Lowe have each reached safely in seven consecutive games.

• Through 22 games, the Mules are outscoring their opponents in the sixth inning, 21-5.
• Combined in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, Central Missouri is outscoring opponents, 63-14.
• UCM is 11-0 on the season after leading through six innings.

• Brennen van Breusegen was voted a First Team NCBWA Preseason All-American and was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-Central Region Team. 

• The Mules were picked first in the MIAA Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll.

• Tuesday's midweek conference contest with Missouri Western will mark the 158th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the first meeting in 1970. The Mules lead the series, 120-37, and have won the last seven meetings with the Griffons. UCM's last setback in the series was an 11-8 loss in St. Joseph in 2019.

• Kyle Crookes has a 318-115 (.734) record in his ninth season as head coach at Central Missouri.
• Crookes is currently second all-time in coaching wins at UCM and is the fifth head coach to ever win 200 games. Crookes passed former UCM head coach Tom Myers, who tallied 311 wins in seven seasons from 2008-14, with the 6-5, walk-off victory over Northwest Missouri State Saturday, Feb. 25. 
• 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, and the 2022 season marks Crookes's fourth regular season and tournament titles.
• Crookes is up to eight MIAA Championships, four regular season and four 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. Nineteen players have earned All-Region honors, seven All-American and five 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.

• The 2023 season marks the 67th in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 2,076-801-9 record in 2,886 games played.
• The Mules have won 40 or more games 21 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, 15 MIAA tournament championships, captured 19 regional titles and two national championships.

• 32 NCAA Regional Appearances (24 of the last 27 years)
• 28 MIAA Regular Season Titles (20 of the last 28)
• 15 MIAA Tournament Titles
• 19 Regional Championships
• 18 Regionals as host site
• 16 Top Five national finishes
• 5 Third place finishes
• 2 National Runners Up finishes
• 2 National Championships

• Central Missouri totaled 46 wins in 2022. 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 35 seasons.
• The Mules have won back-to-back-to-back-to-back MIAA Tournament Championships (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022).

• UCM is scheduled to host the Newman Jets in a three-game MIAA series March 17-19 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg.