Top-Seeded Mules Face Fourth-Seeded Pittsburg State in MIAA Tournament Semifinals

2023 MIAA Baseball Championship Semifinals (Double-Elimination)
Game 1: No. 1 Central Missouri (38-13) vs. No. 4 Pittsburg State (33-18)
Thursday, May 11 | Noon | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
TV: MIAA Network (PPV) | Radio: 98.5 The BAR (Bob Jackson, pxp; Alex Kent, analyst)

UCM Stats | UCM Roster | Pittsburg State Roster | Pittsburg State Stats | Record Book

First Pitch

Top-seeded Central Missouri Mules baseball (38-13) is scheduled to face fourth-seeded Pittsburg State (33-18) in the semifinals of the 2023 MIAA Baseball Championship Thursday, May 11, at noon at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg.
Thanks to the President's Office, all UCM students will get in FREE to all UCM MIAA tournament games. Students just need to show a valid student ID to receive free admission to the games.
Central Missouri advanced to the semifinals of the MIAA tournament after sweeping eighth-seeded Rogers State, 2-0, in a best-of-three first round series May 5-6.
The Mules clinched their 29th MIAA Regular Season Championship and the top seed in the MIAA Baseball Championship after sweeping Fort Hays State in a MIAA series April 28-30 in Warrensburg. UCM finished the regular season with a MIAA record of 27-6.
Central Missouri is ranked No. 1 in the second NCAA-II Central Regional ranking released Wednesday, May 10. The top two teams in the final regional rankings released on the NCAA-II Baseball Championship Selection Show May 14 will host four-team, sub-regionals of the NCAA-II Central Region tournament. The top eight teams in the final rankings qualify for the regional tournament.
The Mules are ranked No. 4 in the most recent NCBWA Division II poll and check in at No. 6 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II poll.
Through 51 games, Central Missouri is led at the plate by outfielders Carter Young (.366 avg., 55 R, 75 H, 13 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR, 55 RBI, .693 SLG%, 23 BB, .429 OB%, 10 SB), Mason Lowe (.336 avg., 27 R, 39 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 14 BB, .446 OB%, 8 SB) and Vance Tobol (.347 avg., 43 R, 61 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 54 RBI, .614 SLG%, 18 BB, 11 SB), and infielders Jack Schark (.386 avg., 46 R, 64 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 35 RBI, .536 SLG%, 21 BB, .470 OB%, 23 SB), John Prudhom (.346 avg., 55 R, 64 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 16 HR, 54 RBI, .708 SLG%, 21 BB, 20 SB) and Cole Moore (.333 avg., 48 R, 58 H, 13 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 41 RBI, .540 SLG%, 26 BB, .424 OB%, 10 SB).
On the mound with 51 games elapsed, UCM is paced by right-handers Conner Wolf (3.95 ERA, 9-3, 1 CG, 70.2 IP, 57 H, 35 R, 31 ER, 16 BB, 67 SO), Tyler Kotsis (2.49 ERA, 3-0, 25.1 IP, 13 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 8 BB, 28 SO), JD McReynolds (0.65 ERA, 4-0, 5 SV, 27.2 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 9 BB, 44 SO), Jake Wilson (4.10 ERA, 3-0, 41.2 IP, 39 H, 20 R, 19 ER, 12 BB, 28 SO), Cole LaLonde (3.27 ERA, 2-1, 44.0 IP, 39 H, 22 R, 16 ER, 23 BB, 57 SO) and Ethan Peterson (2.91 ERA, 3-0, 21.2 IP, 23 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 16 SO), and left-hander Cole Schroeder (3.13 ERA, 0-1, 23.0 IP, 15 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 16 BB, 23 SO).
As a team through 51 games, Central Missouri is hitting .322 while its opponents are hitting .231. UCM has a team ERA of 4.57 and a team fielding percentage of .972.
In the latest MIAA statistics, the Mules are first in team pitching (4.44 ERA) and team fielding (.973), and second in team batting (.320).
In the most recent MIAA individual position player statistics, Schark is third in stolen bases (23), sixth in batting average (.386) and seventh in on-base percentage (.470); Young is fifth in hits (75) and sixth in homers (16) and seventh in slugging percentage (.693); Prudhom is fifth in slugging percentage (.708), home runs (16) and stolen bases (20); Max Holy is sixth in stolen bases (17); Wolf is second in ERA (3.95) and fifth in opposing batting average (.218); and McReynolds is seventh in saves (5).
In the latest NCAA-II national statistics, UCM is eighth in double plays (44), 11th in stolen bases (138), 17th in win-loss percentage (.745) and 20th in fielding percentage (.973).

Mules Baseball Garners 13 All-MIAA Honors, Crookes Named Coach of the Year

Central Missouri Mules baseball had 13 student-athletes garner All-MIAA postseason honors, and head coach Kyle Crookes was voted the MIAA Coach of the Year.
Conner Wolf (starting pitcher), JD McReynolds (relief pitcher), Jack Schark (third base), Carter Young (outfield) and Vance Tobol (designated hitter) all garnered First Team All-MIAA accolades. Cole Moore (second base) received Second Team All-MIAA honors, while Cole LaLonde (starting pitcher) and John Prudhom (first base) earned Third Team All-MIAA recognition. Prudhom (first base) and Brennen van Breusegen (outfield) were both voted to the MIAA Gold Glove Team, and Jake Wilson (starting pitcher), Chase Heath (catcher), Max Holy (shortstop), Mason Lowe (outfield) and van Breusegen (outfield) earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention honors.

Notable Streaks

John Prudhom has reached base safely his last 15 games while Carter Young and Cole Moore have reached in their last 14 contests.
Jack Schark is on a team-best eight-game hitting streak while Vance Tobol is on a six-game streak.

Turning Two

Entering Thursday's MIAA tournament contest, UCM leads the MIAA and ranks eighth in the country in double plays turned with 44.

Late-Inning Success

Through 51 games, the Mules are outscoring their opponents in the sixth inning, 66-28.
Combined in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, Central Missouri is outscoring opponents, 169-85.
UCM is 31-2 this season when leading after six innings.

Series History

Thursday's MIAA Baseball Championship semifinal contest against Pittsburg State will mark the 103rd meeting in the all-time series going back to 1991. UCM leads the series, 86-16, after going 2-1 against the Gorillas earlier this season in Pittsburg, Kan. UCM dropped game one April 14, 6-5, before winning game two, 9-5, and the series finale, 7-5.

Weekly Awards

MIAA Hitter of the Week: Jack Schark, April 10; Carter Young, March 21

UCM During the Crookes Era

Kyle Crookes has a 341-121 (.738) 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 marked Crookes's fourth regular season and tournament titles. UCM's 2023 regular season crown is the fifth with Crookes as the skipper.
Crookes is up to nine MIAA Championships, five 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, 89 players have earned All-MIAA honors, including 26 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 2,099-807-9 record in 2,915 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 29 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)
29 MIAA Regular Season Titles (21 of the last 29)
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 nine 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

With a win over Pittsburg State, UCM would advance in the double-elimination MIAA Baseball Championship and would face the winner of the No. 2 seed Missouri Southern vs. No. 6 seed Northeastern State semifinal game, which is slated for 4 p.m. Thursday in Warrensburg, on Friday, May 12, at 11 a.m. If Central Missouri were to lose, it would drop into the elimination bracket and would take on the loser of the MSSU vs. NSU contest in an elimination game Friday at 3 p.m.

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