No. 3 Mules Baseball Continues Homestand with Tuesday Game vs. Northwest Missouri State

Baseball | 3/31/2025 11:05:00 AM

• No. 3-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball (22-7, 13-4 MIAA) is scheduled to continue its eight-game homestand with a midweek MIAA game against the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (14-16, 8-9 MIAA) Tuesday, April 1, at 3 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg.
• UCM is coming off a 2-1 series win over the No. 24-ranked Fort Hays State Tigers March 28-30 in Warrensburg, winning games one and three, 7-2 and 11-4, and dropping game two, 9-4. 
• Through 29 games, UCM is led at the plate by  infielders Jacob Steele (.422 avg., 33 R, 49 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 28 RBI, .621 SLG%, 16 BB, .500 OB%, 4 SB), Cole Kreisel (.355 avg., 24 R, 27 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, .500 SLG%, 16 BB, .500 OB%, 6 SB), Grant Hollister (.313 avg., 15 R, 21 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 5 BB, .427 OB%, 6 SB) and Chase Wilcox (.309 avg., 16 R, 29 H, 6 2B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 17 BB, .421 OB%, 13 SB), and outfielders Vance Tobol (.368 avg., 35 R, 43 H, 9 2B, 3 3B, 13 HR, 44 RBI, .829 SLG%, 11 BB, .444 OB%, 10 SB), Dayvin Johnson (.343 avg., 32 R, 37 H, 7 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 31 RBI, .657 SLG%, 7 BB, .387 OB%, 7 SB) and Isaiah Keller (.355 avg., 20 R, 33 H, 5 2B, 3 HR, 17 RBI, .505 SLG%, 14 BB, .431 OB%, 12 SB). On the mound, the Mules are paced by right-handers Jack Scott (3-1, 3.79 ERA, 35.2 IP, 38 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 16 BB, 31 SO, .279 opp. avg.), Evan O'Toole (4-0, 4.54 ERA, 37.2 IP, 34 H, 19 R, 19 ER, 15 BB, 39 SO, .246 opp. avg.), JD McReynolds (3-0, 1.21 ERA, 22.1 IP, 12 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 37 SO, .154 opp. avg.) and Jake Wilson (2-0, 3.22 ERA, 22.1 IP, 19 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 10 BB, 31 SO, .232 opp. avg.). 
• As a team, UCM is hitting .325 while limiting opponents to .235 hitting. The Mules have a 4.31 team ERA and a .975 fielding percentage. 
• Through 29 games, Central Missouri leads the MIAA in hitting (.325), and pitching (4.31 ERA) and is fifth in fielding (.975 pct.).
• UCM in the latest MIAA individual statistics: 
  • Hitting: Jacob Steele (1st in batting average, .422; 4th in hits, 49; 5th in on-base percentage, .500), Vance Tobol (2nd in slugging percentage, .829; 2nd in homers (13); T-2nd in RBI, 44; T-3rd in triples, 3; T-6th in stolen bases, 10; 7th in runs, 35; T-8th in hits, 43); Cole Kreisel (T-5th in on-base percentage, .500); Dayvin Johnson (T-3rd in triples, 3); Chase Wilcox (3rd in stolen bases, 13); Isaiah Keller (4th in stolen bases, 12)
  • Pitching: Jack Scott (10th in ERA, 3.79); Evan O'Toole (T-8th in opp. batting avg., .246)
• In the latest NCAA-II statistics, Tobol is 11th in home runs (13), 14th in slugging percentage (.829) and 17th in RBI (44) while Steele is 10th in hits per game (1.75). 

• Tuesday's game vs. the Bearcats will mark the 235th meeting in the all-time series going all the way back to 1965. UCM leads the series, 161-73, but fell to Northwest Missouri State earlier in the season on March 18 in Maryville, Mo., 6-3. 

• On-base streaks: Chase Wilcox, 22 games; Vance Tobol, 5 games; Kaleb Ceola, 5 games

• Through 29 games, the Mules are outscoring their opponents in the eighth-inning, 50-12. Overall, UCM is outscoring its adversaries, 256-133 on the season. 

• Eleventh-season head coach Kyle Crookes became the winningest coach in Mules baseball history after earning career win number 419 Friday, March 28, vs. No. 24 Fort Hays State (recap).
• Crookes passed former UCM head coach Brad Hill, who went 418-91 from 1995-2003. Entering Tuesday, Crookes has a career record of 420-140. 

• The University of Central Missouri Mules baseball program has announced the newest class of inductees into the Mules Baseball Diamond Club as well as the keynote speaker for the annual First Pitch Banquet.
• Entering the Diamond Club this year are former Mules standout student-athletes Bret Schwartz, Mason Janvrin and Brad Wilson, and former longtime Mules baseball radio broadcaster Bob Jackson.  
• This year's keynote speaker at the First Pitch Banquet, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 5, at 5 p.m. inside the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center in Warrensburg, is MLB Hall of Famer George Brett.

• Starting pitcher Conner Wolf was named a NCBWA Preseason First Team All-American. 
• Wolf and infielder Jacob Steele were both named to the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-Central Region Team. 

• Central Missouri is ranked third in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Divsion II Poll release Tuesday, March 25, and is second in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 poll released Wednesday, March 26. 
• The Mules were picked first in the 2025 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 

• Kyle Crookes has a 420-140 (.750) record in his 11th season as head coach at Central Missouri. Crookes earned his 400th career win in UCM's 11-8 victory over Jefferson in Houston, Texas, Feb. 2. 
• Crookes is the winningest coach in program history.
• 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 and tournament titles were the fifth with Crookes as the skipper. The 2024 regular season crown was the sixth for Crookes. 
• Crookes is up to 12 MIAA Championships, six regular season and six tournament.
• He also has four regional championships to his credit in 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024.
• During his 10 seasons at the helm, 102 players have earned All-MIAA honors, including 33 First Team nods, Players of the Year in Erik Webb in 2019, Dusty Stroup in 2021 and Brennen van Breusegen in 2022 and 2024, Pitcher of the Year Conner Wolf in 2024, and Co-Freshman of the Year Jack Scott in 2024. Twenty-nine players have earned All-Region honors, 13 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 2025 season marks the 69th in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 2,178-826-9 record in 3,013 games played.
• The Mules have won 40 or more games 23 times, including 14 straight seasons from 1999-2012, and have won 50 or more games 10 times.
• The Mules have won or shared 30 MIAA regular season championships, 16 MIAA tournament championships, captured 20 regional titles and two national championships (1994, 2003).

• 34 NCAA Regional Appearances (26 of the last 29 years)
• 30 MIAA Regular Season Titles
• 16 MIAA Tournament Titles
• 20 Regional Championships
• 20 Regionals as host site
• 16 Top Five national finishes
• 5 Third place finishes
• 2 National Runners Up finishes
• 2 National Championships

• Central Missouri totaled 52 wins in 2024. The Mules have won at least 30 games in all 10 full seasons under Coach Crookes. They won 20 of 23 games in 2020 before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The team made their 20th trip to the NCAA-II College World Series in 2024. 
• The Mules have finished with a winning record in each of the last 37 seasons.

• UCM hosts the Emporia State Hornets in a three-game MIAA series April 4-6 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field. Game one is set for Friday, April 4, at 3 p.m., with game two at noon Saturday, April 5, and the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 6.