Story by ALEX AGUEROS, for The Muleskinner—

No. 15 Mules baseball (29-8, 23-7) is second in MIAA standings and is set to face No. 5 Missouri Western (31-5, 24-2), who is first in the MIAA, this weekend in St. Joseph, Mo.

Central takes a three-game winning streak into what could be the most important series of the season.

While the pressure is on, head coach Tom Myers wants his team to stick to its game.

“Ultimately, it will come down to who takes care of the baseball and who gets off to a good start,” Myers said.

The Griffons are 20-1 in games in which they score first, and 12-1 in which their opponent has two or more errors.

Junior pitcher Travis Higgs is going into the series with poise. During his last outing against fourth-place Missouri Southern (25-15, 19-13), Higgs took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Higgs, who is starting game one of the series, hopes to bring momentum from that game into Saturday.

“Going into the Missouri Southern game, I had good confidence,” Higgs said. “I need to be on my A-game to prepare myself for this weekend.”

The righty was also named MIAA Pitcher of the Week after his two-hitter thrown against Missouri Southern.

“I threw pretty good last week,” Higgs said. “I was commanding the ball real well, and my changeup is working pretty well right now.”

Myers said he was also glad the award went to Higgs.

“It’s obviously a great honor,” Myers said. “And he’ll be the first one to tell you that every honor is a product of your teammates.”

Higgs and Myers are both excited to compete in a series that may determine the conference title.

“If we play how we want to play, and take care of ourselves, we’ll be just fine,” Myers said.

Saturday’s doubleheader is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Sunday’s single game is scheduled to start at noon.