Haeger, U-M Take Down No. 12 Oregon State on Opening Day

Friday, February 13

Surprise, Ariz.

2:00 PM MT

Michigan

1-0

Oregon State

0-1

Michigan

Oregon State

Evan Haeger (Michigan Photography)

Haeger, U-M Take Down No. 12 Oregon State on Opening Day

2/13/2026 8:57:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Conor Stemme

» Michigan defeated No. 12 Oregon State for its second straight opening day win against a ranked opponent.
» Evan Haeger went 3-for-4 with a career-high four RBI, including on the go-ahead run in the eighth.
» Brenden Stressler recorded his first Michigan home run with his first shot in the second inning.
» Shane Brinham made his Michigan debut, tallying two strikeouts.

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The University of Michigan baseball team earned its second straight opening day victory against a ranked opponent, coming from behind late in the game to defeat No. 12-ranked Oregon State 5-3 on Friday (Feb. 13) at Surprise Stadium to open the College Baseball Series.

Last season, the Wolverines defeated No. 2 Virginia 5-4 in 11 innings at the Puerto Rico Challenge.

With the score tied at three, Cade Ladehoff opened the eighth inning with a double on a 1-2 count before Noah Miller drew a walk. Dane Morrow and Josh Campbell pinch-ran for Ladehoff and Miller, and both runners advanced to scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Cooper Mullens. Evan Haeger came through, recording a two-out, two-run single to shallow right field to put the Wolverines up 5-3.

Strong defense helped Michigan in the bottom of the eighth, with Drew Culbertson making a diving play at shortstop and a strong throw to get the runner at first for the first out of the inning. Shane Brinham recorded the second out with a strikeout before Greg Pace Jr. made a diving catch in center field for a 1-2-3 frame.

In the bottom of the ninth, Oregon State drew a leadoff walk off Brinham before Gavin DeVooght took the mound. He forced a groundout and a deep flyout for the first two outs of the inning. A high infield popup was caught by Matthew Ossenfort to end the game and clinch the opening day victory.

Michigan (1-0) was led offensively by Haeger, who collected three hits and four RBI, setting career highs in both categories. Brenden Stressler also had a strong day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs. Ladehoff recorded three hits in the contest, including a double. Staeter Tate Carey pitched five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Shane Brinham pitched 1.2 innings without allowing a run or a hit while striking out two in his Michigan debut to earn the win.

Oregon State (0-1) struck first for a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. A leadoff walk was followed by a double to give OSU a 1-0 lead, and a one-out single brought home the runner from second to extend the lead.

Stressler led off the second inning, and with his first swing as a Wolverine, cut the lead in half with a solo home run to right-center field. Carey settled in during the second inning, allowing just one hit in the second while striking out two.

Oregon State got the run back in the fifth, when a two-out single brought a run home to give the Beavers a 3-1 advantage.

The Wolverines responded in the top of the sixth with back-to-back one-out singles from Stressler and Greg Pace Jr. Both advanced to scoring position on a passed ball before a Haeger single brought them home to tie the game at three. David Lally Jr. took over for Carey in the bottom of the inning and worked himself out of a jam. The Beavers loaded the bases on a leadoff walk and back-to-back singles, but a fielder's choice at home and a lineout to Culbertson ended the threat.

Shane Brinham made his debut in the seventh, recording an inning-ending strikeout.

Michigan will return to action on Saturday (Feb. 14) against Stanford for the second day of the College Baseball Series in Surprise at 6 p.m. MT on FloCollege.