Hajjar, Michigan Claim Series Opener at Michigan State

Friday, May 7

East Lansing, Mich.

6:35 PM

Michigan

22-11, 22-11

Michigan State

12-21, 12-21

Michigan

Michigan State

Steven Hajjar (Michigan Photography)

Hajjar, Michigan Claim Series Opener at Michigan State

5/7/2021 10:18:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Kurt Svoboda

» Steven Hajjar allowed a leadoff single and walked a batter in the first inning but allowed no more runners in six innings while striking out a career-high 13 batters.
» Griffin Mazur had two hits and three runs batted in.
» Four U-M players had two hits apiece in the win.

Site: East Lansing, Mich. (McLane Stadium)
Score: Michigan 5, Michigan State 1
Records: U-M (22-11, 22-11 B1G), Michigan State (12-21, 12-21 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 8 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 3 p.m.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team received a special starting pitching performance from Steven Hajjar on Friday night (May 7) as the Wolverines defeated Michigan State 5-1 at McLane Stadium.

Michigan's lefty ace was exceptional for Michigan, allowing a leadoff single and walking a batter in the first inning but yielding nothing else en route to a career-high 13 strikeouts over six innings of work to run his record to 3-0 on the season.

Michigan (21-11, 21-11 Big Ten) scored a pair of runs in the third inning with two outs when Griffin Mazur singled home Jimmy Obertop (double), and Ted Burton followed with a double of his own. However, Burton was thrown out trying to steal third base to let MSU's Mason Erla off the hook in a full count against Tito Flores.

Michigan made it 3-0 in the fourth with another two-out spark. Christan Bullock walked with two outs and Christian Molfetta lined a ball into center field that found the ground when MSU's Joe Stewart slipped, allowing the speedy Bullock to score all the way from first.

Michigan State (12-21, 12-21 Big Ten) got on the board with an unearned run the eighth inning against reliever Isaiah Paige thanks to a critical leadoff error followed by a two-out single to right. Another error put a runner on second base, prompting U-M to go with closer Willie Weiss. He did the job, inducing a grounder to second to get out of the inning before finishing the game to earn the save.

Mazur delivered two more runs in the ninth to regain a cushion, when he fought off a tough pitch, sending a flair to center to score Clark Elliott (walk) and Benjamin Sems (single).

Mazur, Elliott, Burton and Flores all had two hits to lead Michigan's 10-hit offense.

The Wolverines and Spartans will square off in the middle game of their three-game set on Saturday (May 8) at 3:05 p.m. at McLane Stadium. The matchup will be streamed live on Big Ten Network+.