Why the Central Missouri Mules like their chances as the College World Series begins

Central Missouri baseball’s road to redemption began almost exactly two years, after a 1-0 loss left the Mules with a third-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Division II College World Series.

On Saturday, the top-seeded Mules have another shot at a championship. Their first task: beating No. 8 seed Northwest Nazarene in a game that begins at 5 p.m.

UCM punched its return ticket to the CWS by winning the Central Region Championship at home earlier this week. The Mules looked dominant in a 12-5 win against Southern Arkansas Monday, pounding out a season-high 23 hits to finish the regional undefeated through four games.

Now, another shot at the title is at hand. But just as important for Central Missouri coach Kyle Crooks is the fact that he gets to spend some more time with his team, including seniors who will leave the program when this postseason concludes.

“It’s for me, selfishly, more time to spend with these guys,” he said. “We’ve been around each other for a while, and so the longer we can stay together, the better.

“Certainly ... we want to be here and have wanted to be here, but so do a lot of teams. It means the world to be around people that you care about, that work hard and have been together for so long.”

The CWS will take place at the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. Other teams in the field include Seton Hall, Southern New Hampshire, Trevecca Nazarene, Tampa, Angelo State and Wingate.

This year’s Central Missouri team is led by a group of seven seniors, and four of them are starters. Right fielder Erik Webb, who’s from St. Peters and has been at UCM for four years, said the team’s CWS appearance in 2019 should help in terms of familiarity with the process and routine.

“We kind of know what it’s like: what our schedule is going to be like, how we need to manage ourselves and everything like that, ” he said.

But this year’s tournament also presents new challenges — and new opponents.

“I think the beauty of the game is, you really don’t know,” Crooks said. “But in terms of how it plays out in games, you’re playing the seven other best teams in the country that are also the hottest teams in the country, that are also probably the most talented teams in the country. It’s still going to be baseball ... it’s still going to be competition and the experience.”

In rolling to a 43-6 record, offense has not been a problem for UCM this season. The Mules average more than nine runs per game and six starters are batting over .300. Senior third baseman Dusty Stroup, who played at Lee’s Summit West High, was honored as the All-Region Player of the Year Wednesday and leads the region with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs.

Stroup’s latest homer was a three-run shot to left field that gave the Mules a 8-4 lead in the regional championship.

“I like our chances,” Stroup said of the team’s offensive momentum. “If we just focus on the things that we really care about, and hit the little details and execute each situation, well, then, I like our chances.”

Webb broke out of a slump in the regional championship game, going 4 for 5 with an RBI. It was the perfect way to end his career: big game in front of the home crowd at Crane Stadium in Warrensburg.

“This whole year, it’s been a huge blessing,” he said. “And being able to play well in the last game for the home crowd to make to the World Series, I couldn’t be more thankful.”

With many of these Mules having played on the CWS stage before, Webb believes maturity will factor greatly in the team’s chances in North Carolina.

It doesn’t hurt that junior left-hander Mason Green is 14-0 with 108 strikeouts and a 2.55 ERA.

“It’s easy when you know you have that lineup behind you and that defense behind you,” said Green, who played at Olathe Northwest. “Each year and each outing, I kind of rely on myself to get better each out and get better each inning. The easy part is just going out there and controlling myself. I know they’re going to take care of the rest for me.”

Still in the thick of the postseason, Crooks said he hasn’t had much of a chance yet to reflect on the stellar season that Green has pieced together.

“He’s tremendous and he works hard,” the coach said. “There’s no question that I have all the confidence in the world in him and his work ethic.”

The eight-team double-elimination CWS continues through June 12.