Michigan Tops Cal State Fullerton, 2-1

Friday, April 8

Ann Arbor, Mich.

4:00 PM

Michigan

15-14

Cal State Fullerton

10-18

Cal State Fullerton

Michigan

Matt Frey (Michigan Photography)

4/8/2022 6:54:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Kurt Svoboda

» Matt Frey's eighth inning solo home run broke a tie game.
» Chase Allen stranded the bases loaded in the ninth inning.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team received a dynamic pitching effort, and Matt Frey broke a tie game with an eighth-inning home run Friday (April 8) as the Wolverines defeated Cal State Fullerton by a score of 2-1 at Ray Fisher Stadium.

The teams resume their series on Saturday in a 2 p.m. start.

An impressive pitcher's duel between U-M's Connor O'Halloran and Fullerton's Tyler Stutz went scoreless into the sixth inning. Then, with two outs in the bottom of the frame, Joe Stewart laced a hit past shortstop – a low liner that came off his bat at 112 miles per hour. The ball went to the wall, and the speedy Stewart raced into third base with a triple. The aggressiveness was rewarded as Ted Burton followed with an infield single deep into the hole between short and third base.

Cal State Fullerton threatened in the seventh with some two-out bingo. Nate Nankil beat an infield shift with a grounder through the right side, and J.T. Navyac beat out a chopper to shortstop but O'Halloran responded with his fourth strikeout of the day on a wicked 2-2 slider to get out of the jam.

Fullerton threatened again in the eighth and finally chased O'Halloran from the game. Caden Connor led off the inning with a grounder through the right side that went to the wall for a double. A sacrifice bunt moved Connor to third base, and Michigan went to the bullpen in favor of Chase Allen. Zach Lew tied the game with a chopper over the infield, and the bases quickly got loaded after another single and a hit batsman. Allen avoided further damage by inducing a pair of popups.

Michigan answered loudly in the bottom of the frame as Frey took the first pitch of the inning against Stutz over the right-field wall for a solo home run on a ball that came off the bat at 108 miles per hour. That proved to be the winning run as Allen closed out the game in the ninth, leaving the bases loaded with a harmless fly ball to right field.

Allen earned the win in relief, improving his record to 4-0. O'Halloran didn't factor into the decision but was magnificent as the sophomore scattered seven hits and a single run in 6.1 innings of work.

Stutz took the loss (2-2), allowing four hits and two runs in 7.2 innings of work against six strikeouts.