Hall of Fame
1989 Mules Baseball
The 1989 Mules baseball team finished with a record of 38-16-2 and became the first in school history to advance to the NCAA Division II World Series (in 1974, the Mules advanced to the World Series in the College Division, before the NCAA broke schools into D-I, D-II, and D-III). After laying claim to the MIAA Championship, the Mules hosted the Central Regional, downing Northwest Missouri 18-8 and then sweeping Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville 8-1 and 4-3 to claim the Regional title. Central then headed to Montgomery, Ala., where the Cardinal & Black fell 6-3 to Rollins and 12-4 to New Haven, but a foundation had been laid for many more exciting years of Central Missouri State baseball. Second baseman Sittichoke Huckuntod was named first-team All-MIAA and third-team Academic All-MIAA, while catcher Larry Hawks and first baseman Mark Dittmer were third-team All-Americans. Huckuntod, Hawks, and Dittmer, along with reliever Mike Dryer and outfielder Troy Culler were first-team All-MIAA selections, and head coach Stu Rogers was named MIAA and NCAA Division II Central Region Coach of the Year. As a team, the Mules finished the season ranked 7th in batting with a .342 average, fifth in fielding (.964 percent), and 13th in scoring (7.91 runs per game),
