(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) – The Central Missouri Mules baseball team had 10 players earn All-MIAA honors, including three first team selections as the all-conference team, announced by the league office Thursday morning. Senior relief pitcher Andrew Urban, senior catcher Chase Graskewicz and junior outfielder Kevin Gratza were all named to the all-conference first team for Central Missouri.
Urban went 5-3 with a 2.49 ERA in 25 appearances out of the bullpen in his lone season with the Mules. He was second on the team with five saves and registered 47 strikeouts in 50.2 innings pitched.
Graskewicz earned his second all-conference award after being named to the second team last season. He hit .314 with four home runs and 20 RBI in 29 games this year. He also had eight multi-hit games and five games with multiple runs batted in.
Gratza earned his first all-MIAA nod after leading the team and ranking fifth in the league with a .392 batting average. He had 11 doubles, four triples, four home runs and drove in 41 runs. He has 16 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games this season.
Earning all-MIAA second team honors were junior righthander Travis Higgs, senior first baseman John Oropeza, senior shortstop Samuel Domingue and senior utilityman Kyle Grieshaber.
Higgs went 5-2 with a 3.36 ERA in 11 starts for the Mules. He struck out 48 batters in 59.0 innings pitched and held opponents to a .239 batting average. He tossed two complete games and was named MIAA Pitcher of the Week twice this season.
Oropeza hit .351 this season with 18 doubles, five home runs and 50 RBI. He had 19 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games. With his 18 doubles this season he moves into 10th place on UCM’s career list with 46. This is the third all-conference honor for Oropeza.
Domingue was second on the team with a .380 batting average in his lone season for UCM. He had eight doubles, two home runs and 30 runs driven in out of the leadoff spot. He led the Mules with 24 multi-hit games, 71 hits and 56 runs scored.
Grieshaber hit .366 had 17 doubles and led the Mules with nine home runs and 55 RBI while playing three different positions this season. He had 16 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games while splitting time between centerfield, second base and third base.
Mules earning honorable mention accolades from the conference were junior righthander Jake Heissler, senior second baseman Jon Cotter and junior outfielder Brad Wilson.
Heissler went 5-0 with a 2.29 ERA in 19 relief appearances this season. He struck out 38 batters in 39.1 innings and was third on the team with three saves.
Cotter hit .298 with six doubles, one home run and 20 RBI in 41 games played this season. He committed just four errors this season while playing second base and third base and finished with a .976 fielding percentage. This is the second straight honorable mention nod for Cotter.
Wilson hit .345 this year to go along with 13 doubles, three home runs and 53 RBI. He had 16 multi-RBI games and 14 multi-hit games and a team-best 15-game hitting streak earlier this season.
The Mules are currently ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Central Region poll. The NCAA-II Baseball Selection Show will take place Sunday night at 9 p.m. CST and will be broadcast on NCAA.com.