Baseball | 4/16/2025 10:16:00 AM

• No. 3-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball (29-9, 20-6 MIAA) is scheduled to travel to Joplin, Mo., for a three-game MIAA series at Missouri Southern (21-17, 14-12 MIAA) April 17-18 at Warren Turner Field. The series opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday, April 17, with the series concluding with a noon doubleheader on Friday, April 18. 
• The Mules are coming off a 17-10, comeback win over the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats Tuesday, April 15, in Maryville, Mo. UCM trailed 10-4 going into the fourth inning before scoring 13 unanswered runs to post the 17-10 triumph. 
• Through 38 games, UCM is led at the plate by  infielders Jacob Steele (.411 avg., 40 R, 65 H, 9 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 37 RBI, .620 SLG%, 18 BB, .475 OB%, 5 SB), Cole Kreisel (.333 avg., 31 R, 35 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 23 BB, .489 OB%, 8 SB) and Grant Hollister (.333 avg., 20 R, 32 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 5 BB, .421 OB%, 8 SB), and outfielders Vance Tobol (.353 avg., 47 R, 55 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 15 HR, 49 RBI, .744 SLG%, 16 BB, .430 OB%, 14 SB), Dayvin Johnson (.350 avg., 42 R, 49 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 40 RBI, .664 SLG%, 10 BB, .394 OB%, 9 SB) and Isaiah Keller (.318 avg., 26 R, 42 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 30 RBI, .508 SLG%, 15 BB, .383 OB%, 13 SB). On the mound, the Mules are paced by right-handers Jack Scott (3-1, 3.00 ERA, 48.0 IP, 44 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 20 BB, 42 SO, .246 opp. avg.), Evan O'Toole (5-0, 3.91 ERA, 48.1 IP, 41 H, 25 R, 21 ER, 19 BB, 48 SO, .232 opp. avg.), JD McReynolds (5-0, 0.98 ERA, 3 SV, 27.2 IP, 14 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 45 SO, .146 opp. avg.) and Jake Wilson (3-0, 3.52 ERA, 30.2 IP, 27 H, 17 R, 12 ER, 16 BB, 44 SO, .239 opp. avg.). 
• As a team, UCM is hitting .318 while limiting opponents to .236 hitting. The Mules have a 4.44 team ERA and a .969 fielding percentage. 
• Through 38 games, Central Missouri is second in the MIAA in hitting (.318) and pitching (4.44 ERA) and is seventh in fielding (.969 pct.).
• UCM in the latest MIAA individual statistics:
  • Hitting: Jacob Steele (2nd in batting average, .411; 1st in hits, 65; 8th in on-base percentage, .475; 10th in slugging percentage, .620); Vance Tobol (3rd in slugging percentage, .744; 3rd in homers, 15; 5th in RBI, 49; T-5th in runs, 47; T-4th in stolen bases, 14); Dayvin Johnson (8th in slugging percentage, .664); Cole Kreisel (6th in on-base percentage, .489); Chase Wilcox (T-4th in stolen bases, 14); Isaiah Keller (7th in stolen bases, 13)
  • Pitching: Jack Scott (6th in ERA, 3.00); Evan O'Toole (T-6th in wins, 5; 7th in opp. batting avg., .232; 10th in ERA, 3.91); JD McReynolds (6th in saves, 3; T-6th in wins, 5)
• In the latest NCAA-II statistics, Tobol is 19th in home runs (15) while Steele is fifth in hits per game (1.76) and 17th in hits (65). 

• The three-game series at Missouri Southern will mark meetings 125-127 in the all-time series going back to 1983. UCM leads the series, 96-28. Last season, the Mules went 2-2 against the Lions, winning the regular season series in Warrensburg, 2-1, after winning games one and three, 7-4 and 5-2, and dropping game two, 9-7, and falling to Missouri Southern in the MIAA Tournament Championship game in Pittsburg, Kan., 18-16. 

• The Mules won back-to-back games via walk-off hits in their three-game series sweep of Central Oklahoma April 11-13 in Warrensburg. Cole Kreisel hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning in UCM's 7-6 win over the Bronchos April 12 before Brett Grupe smashed a two-run, walk-off homer to left field in the bottom of the 10th inning in Central Missouri's 3-2 triumph on April 13. 

• Vance Tobol is just two hits shy of tallying 200 for his career as a Mules. He has 196 hits going into the series at Missouri Southern. 
• Jacob Steele is eight hits away from 200 in his UCM tenure. He has 192 entering the series in Joplin. 

• Hitting streaks: Jacob Steele, 9 games
• On-base streaks: Vance Tobol, 14 games; Jacob Steele, 9 games; Brett Grupe, 4 games; Ayden Blachowicz, 4 games

• Through 38 games, the Mules are outscoring their opponents in the eighth-inning, 53-22. Overall, UCM is outscoring its adversaries, 324-198 on the season. 

• Central Missouri is 17-2 on the season when it scores in the first inning and 20-5 when it scores first in a game. 

• 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 the weekend, Crookes has a career record of 427-142. 

• Central Missouri is ranked number four in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division II Poll released April 15 and is third in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II Poll unveiled Wednesday, April 16. 
• The Mules were picked first in the 2025 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 

• Kyle Crookes has a 427-142 (.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 2,185-828-9 record in 3,022 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 is back home to host the Washburn Ichabods in a midweek MIAA game Wednesday, April 23, at 4 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg.