Baseball | 5/20/2025 3:00:00 PM
2025 NCAA-II Super Regional (best-of-three series)
Game 53: No. 1 Central Missouri (41-11) vs. No. 3 Pittsburg State (42-10)
Thursday, May 22 | 3 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
Radio: 98.5 The BAR FM (Alex Kent, play-by-play)
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Game 54: No. 1 Central Missouri vs. No. 3 Pittsburg State
Friday, May 23 | 2 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
Radio: 98.5 The BAR FM (Alex Kent, play-by-play)
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Game 55: No. 1 Central Missouri vs. No. 3 Pittsburg State (if necessary)
Saturday, May 24 | 1 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field)
Radio: 98.5 The BAR FM (Alex Kent, play-by-play)
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NCAA-II Super Regional Info
First Pitch
- MIAA Regular Season Champion, third-ranked, and top-seeded Central Missouri Mules Baseball (41-11) is set to host the third-seeded and ninth-ranked Pittsburg State Gorillas (42-10) in a best-of-three NCAA-II Super Regional May 22-24 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg.
- The winner of the best-of-three Super Regional will claim the Central Region Championship and secure a berth in the 2025 NCAA-II College World Series May 30-June 7 in Cary, N.C.
- UCM has qualified for 35 NCAA-II tournaments.
- The Mules went a perfect 3-0 in the NCAA-II Central Regional tournament May 15-18 in Warrensburg, defeating No. 8 seed Harding twice, 8-7 in 12 innings and 13-6, and No. 5 seed Arkansas Tech, 21-8.
- Through 52 games, UCM is led at the plate by catcher Chase Heath (.398 avg., 36 R, 45 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 45 RBI, .717 SLG%, 15 BB, .459 OB%, 8 SB), infielders Jacob Steele (.386 avg., 66 R, 83 H, 14 2B, 3 3B, 13 HR, 62 RBI, .660 SLG%, 33 BB, .475 OB%, 10 SB), Cole Kreisel (.361 avg., 45 R, 57 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 26 RBI, .481 SLG%, 33 BB, .500 OB%, 12 SB) and Grant Hollister (.312 avg., 31 R, 44 H, 14 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 36 RBI, .468 SLG%, 11 BB, .419 OB%, 9 SB), and outfielders Vance Tobol (.368 avg., 68 R, 78 H, 16 2B, 3 3B, 19 HR, 67 RBI, .741 SLG%, 27 BB, .451 OB%, 22 SB), Dayvin Johnson (.340 avg., 64 R, 66 H, 15 2B, 4 3B, 15 HR, 56 RBI, .691 SLG%, 26 BB, .425 OB%, 13 SB) and Isaiah Keller (.319 avg., 40 R, 61 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 12 HR, 52 RBI, .560 SLG%, 18 BB, .374 OB%, 16 SB). On the mound, the Mules are paced by right-handers Jack Scott (4-1, 4.41 ERA, 65.1 IP, 77 H, 36 R, 32 ER, 23 BB, 57 SO, .295 opp. avg.), Evan O'Toole (5-0, 3.86 ERA, 51.1 IP, 44 H, 26 R, 22 ER, 21 BB, 49 SO, .233 opp. avg.), JD McReynolds (6-0, 1.38 ERA, 3 SV, 45.2 IP, 24 H, 10 R, 7 ER, 13 BB, 72 SO, .149 opp. avg.) and Jake Wilson (5-1, 4.73 ERA, 1 SV, 45.2 IP, 45 H, 29 R, 24 ER, 28 BB, 63 SO), and left-hander Sawyer Allen (6-0, 4.20 ERA, 1 SV, 40.2 IP, 35 H, 25 R, 19 ER, 18 BB, 36 SO, .230 opp. avg.).
- As a team, UCM is hitting .325 while limiting opponents to .246 hitting. The Mules have a 4.62 team ERA and a .972 fielding percentage.
- In the latest NCAA-II statistics, Tobol is 18th in home runs (19), 19th in runs per game (1.33) and 27th in RBI per game (1.31) while Steele is 17th in hits per game (1.63). The Mules are ninth in win-loss percentage (.788), 13th in scoring (9.4 runs per game), 14th in home runs (82) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.2), 18th in runs (489), 16th in slugging percentage (.541), 22nd in batting average (.325) and 24th in stolen bases (136).
Series History vs. Pittsburg State
- The Super Regional against the Gorillas will mark meetings 111, 112, and, if game three is played, 113, in the all-time series going back to 1991. UCM leads the series, 93-17. The Mules and Gorillas met earlier this season in a three-game MIAA series in Warrensburg Feb. 28 through March 1, with Central Missouri winning games one and two, 11-6 and 7-6 in 10 innings, and dropping the series finale, 7-4.
Mules in the Rankings
- Central Missouri is ranked number four in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division II Poll released May 20 and is third in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II Poll unveiled May 14.
Notable Streaks
- Hitting streaks: Jacob Steele, 7 games; Will Krzykowski, 5 games; Kaleb Ceola, 4 games
- On-base streaks: Will Krzykowski, 15 games; Chase Heath, 14 games; Jacob Steele, 12 games; Kaleb Ceola, 7 games; Ayden Blachowicz, 7 games; Dayvin Johnson, 6 games; Chase Wilcox, 4 games; Isaiah Keller, 4 games
Late-Game Dominance
- Through 52 games, UCM is outscoring its opponents in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, 213-106. Overall, the Mules are outscoring their adversaries, 489-281.
- When leading after six innings this season, the Mules are 30-1.
Getting on the Board Early
- Central Missouri is 26-2 on the season when it scores in the first inning and 28-5 when it scores first in a game.
Steele, Johnson, Tobol, McReynolds Earn All-Region Accolades
- Third baseman Jacob Steele, outfielder Vance Tobol, designated hitter Dayvin Johnson and relief pitcher JD McReynolds earned All-Central Region honors from both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Division 2 Conference Commisioners Association (D2CCA).
- NCBWA First Team All-Region honors went to Steele, Tobol and McReynolds while Johnson earned second team recognition.
- Steele and Johnson were D2CCA First Team All-Region recipients, and Tobol and McReynolds received second team honors.
Fourteen Mules Earn All-MIAA Honors; Steele Co-Player of the Year, Kreisel Freshman of the Year (full details)
- Jacob Steele was voted the Co-Player of the Year and Cole Kreisel was tabbed Freshman of the Year, highlighting numerous All-MIAA postseason accolades for the 2025 MIAA Regular Season Champion University of Central Missouri Mules Baseball Team, it was announced Tuesday, May 6, by the conference office.
- Steele (3B), Vance Tobol (OF) and Dayvin Johnson (DH) all earned First Team All-MIAA honors while Evan O'Toole (SP), JD McReynolds (RP) and Isaiah Keller (OF) were Second Team All-MIAA selections and Jack Scott (SP), Jack Kreisman (SP), Jake Wilson (RP), Chris Massey (RP), Chase Heath (C), Grant Hollister (2B) and Kreisel (SS) garnered Honorable Mention All-MIAA recognition.
- Steele (3B) and Chase Wilcox (1B) both were selected to the All-MIAA Gold Glove Team for their defensive performances throughout the regular season.
Crookes Becomes All-Time Winningest Coach in Mules Baseball History
- 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 super regional, Crookes has a career record of 439-144.
UCM During the Crookes Era
- Kyle Crookes has a 439-144 (.753) 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 while the Mules' 2025 regular season title marks Crookes's seventh as head coach.
- Crookes is up to 13 MIAA Championships, seven 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, 116 players have earned All-MIAA honors, including 36 First Team nods, Players of the Year in Erik Webb in 2019, Dusty Stroup in 2021, Brennen van Breusegen in 2022 and 2024, and Jacob Steele in 2025, Pitcher of the Year Conner Wolf in 2024, and Co-Freshman of the Year Jack Scott in 2024 and Freshman of the Year Cole Kreisel in 2025. Thirty-three 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.
Mules Baseball History
- The 2025 season marks the 69th in the storied history of Mules Baseball. During that span the Mules have compiled a 2,197-830-9 record in 3,036 games played.
- The Mules have won 40 or more games 24 times, including 14 straight seasons from 1999-2012, and have won 50 or more games 10 times.
- The Mules have won or shared 31 MIAA regular season championships, 16 MIAA tournament championships, captured 20 regional titles and two national championships (1994, 2003).
Mules Baseball by the Numbers
- 35 NCAA Regional Appearances (27 of the last 30 years)
- 31 MIAA Regular Season Titles
- 16 MIAA Tournament Titles
- 21 Regionals as host site
- 20 Regional Championships
- 16 Top Five national finishes
- 5 Third place finishes
- 2 National Runners Up finishes
- 2 National Championships
Quick Hits
- Central Missouri totaled 52 wins in 2024. The Mules have won at least 30 games in all 11 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.
Up Next
- If the Mules are able to win the best-of-three Super Regional against the Gorillas, they'll advance to the NCAA-II College World Series May 30-June 7 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
