Baseball | 3/17/2023 9:53:00 AM

Game 24: Central Missouri (16-7, 8-2 MIAA) vs. Newman (11-12, 5-5 MIAA)
Sunday, March 19 | 1 p.m. (DH) | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
TV: MIAA Network (PPV) | Radio: 98.5 The BAR (Bob Jackson, pxp; Alex Kent, color commentary)
Live Audio

Game 25: Central Missouri vs. Newman
Sunday, March 19 | 4 p.m. (DH) | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
TV: MIAA Network (PPV) | Radio: 98.5 The BAR (Bob Jackson, pxp; Alex Kent, color commentary)
Live Audio

Game 26: Central Missouri vs. Newman
Monday, March 20 | 1 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
TV: MIAA Network (PPV)

Live Stats (all games) | UCM Stats | UCM Roster | Newman Roster | Newman Stats | Record Book

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First Pitch

• Central Missouri Mules baseball (16-7, 8-2 MIAA) is scheduled to host the Newman Jets (11-12, 5-5 MIAA) in a rare Sunday-Monday, three-game MIAA series at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg March 19-20. The two teams will open the series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Sunday, March 19, before wrapping up with the series finale at 1 p.m. Monday, March 20. The series was originally slated to be played Feb. 17-19, but freezing temperatures and wind chills in Warrensburg altered the schedule.
• UCM is coming off an 11-1, seven-inning victory over Missouri Western in a MIAA contest Tuesday, March 14, in Warrensburg.
• Through 23 games, Central Missouri is led at the plate by outfielders Carter Young (.432 avg., 17 R, 35 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 19 RBI, .728 SLG%, 11 BB, .500 OB%, 3 SB) and Vance Tobol (.329 avg., 17 R, 27 H, 2 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 20 RBI, .610 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), Jack Schark (.348 avg., 14 R, 23 H, 2 2B, 10 RBI, 10 BB, 6 SB) and Cole Moore (.314 avg., 19 R, 22 H, 5 2B, 3 3B, 13 RBI, 12 BB, 5 SB).
• On the mound with 23 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 23 games, Central Missouri is hitting .321 while its opponents are hitting .226. UCM has a team ERA of 4.31 and a team fielding percentage of .968.
• In the latest MIAA statistics, the Mules are third in team batting (.321), second in team pitching (4.31 ERA) and fourth in team fielding (.967 fielding percentage).
• In the most recent MIAA individual statistics, Young leads the conference in batting average (.432), ranks fifth in on-base percentage (.500) and hits (35), and seventh in slugging percentage (.728) while Prudhom is fourth in slugging (.757) and third in home runs (9), and Clark is third in saves (4). Wolf is also in the top-10 of the conference statistics through 23 games, ranking seventh in strikeouts at 33 and ninth in ERA at 3.81.

Notable Streaks

• Mason Lowe is on a team-high eight-game hitting streak entering Sunday while Vance Tobol has a six-game hitting streak and Brett Grupe and Max Holy have hit safely in four straight contests.
• Young has reached base safely in a team-high 15 straight games while Holy has reached in his last 14 contests. Tobol and Lowe have both reached base successfully in eight consecutive games.

Late-Inning Success

• Through 23 games, the Mules are outscoring their opponents in the sixth inning, 27-5.
• Combined in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, Central Missouri is outscoring opponents, 72-14
• UCM is 12-0 on the season after leading through six innings.

Preseason Honors

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

Mules in the Rankings

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

Series History

• The three-game series against Newman will mark meetings 10-12 in the all-time series dating back to the first meeting in 2020. UCM is perfect 9-0 in the series. Last season, Central Missouri swept a three-game series against the Jets in Arkansas City, Kan., winning 13-0 (7 inn.), 15-1 (7 inn.) and 11-7 (10 inn.).

UCM During the Crookes Era

• Kyle Crookes has a 319-115 (.735) 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.

Mules Baseball History

• The 2023 season marks the 67th in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 2,077-801-9 record in 2,887 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.

Mules Baseball by the Numbers

• 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

Quick Hits

• 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).

Up Next

• The Mules are scheduled to travel to Claremore, Okla., for a three-game MIAA series at Rogers State March 24-26.