MORGANTOWN, W.VA. — No. 16 West Virginia easily took care of the Cal Poly Mustangs, 12-2, on Friday at Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown. Read more: No. 16 WVU handles Cal Poly 12-2 in Game 1 of the Super Regionals.
Thousands of Mountaineer fans filled the ballpark, and their hometown team did not disappoint in its first NCAA Super Regional game in Morgantown. WVU totaled 14 total hits, including two home runs. Tyrus Hall’s grand slam in the fourth helped propel the Mountaineers to their Game 1 victory.
Chansen Cole also pitched a gem as he finished with 11 strikeouts and just two earned runs in seven innings. The sophomore is also the first pitcher to record nine straight outs via strikeout in the NCAA Tournament since 2021.
Smith puts WVU ahead early
Cole took the rubber for the Mountaineers in the top of the first inning and almost immediately handled the first two Cal Poly hitters. In less than five pitches, the Big 12 leader in opposing batting average forced a fly out and a groundout.
After the Mustangs’ Dylan Kordic managed to squeeze a groundball past Tyrus Hall at third base, Cole quickly bounced back and got star catcher Ryan Tayman to fly out to left field.
Armani Guzman kept the Mountaineer fans cheering with a leadoff double in the bottom half of the frame. Following a Gavin Kelly flyout, Paul Schoenfeld forced a four-pitch walk.
Sean Smith took advantage of the two runners on base with a first-pitch three-run home run. The 402-foot blast ignited the thousands of WVU fans in attendance.
Related: Anticipation in the air for No. 16 West Virginia baseball
Cal Poly’s starting pitcher Griffin Naess settled down following a mound visit and retired the next two WVU hitters. However, the Mountaineers went into the second with an early 3-0 lead.
The Mustangs’ led off the top of the second inning with a leadoff double from Cam Hoiland. His shot towards the left center fence quieted the WVU fans for the moment.
Cole gave them a reason to get back on their feet as he responded with three-straight punch outs. Through the first two innings, the sophomore looked utterly dominant.
Naess avoided any further damage in the bottom of the second by retiring the side in order. The junior right-hander also struck out Ben Lumsden for his first punch out of the day.
Hall blows it open
Cole continued to roll through the Cal Poly hitters in the third as he struck out the side in order. After three innings his strikeout total was up to six.
Naess started to hit his stride as well in the bottom half of the frame after he also had a 1-2-3 inning. He looked a lot more comfortable compared to the opening inning.
Cal Poly finally broke through with a leadoff home run from Dylan Kordic. Cole responded by striking out the next Mustang hitter.
He hit the next batter, but recorded another K for the second out of the inning. Murray singled towards right field to put runners on the corner. However, Cole didn’t allow any more Mustang runners to cross after striking out Gavin Spiridonoff to end the inning.
With WVU commanding just a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, Smith looked to help increase that lead again by hitting a leadoff double. Three batters later, Brodie Kresser successfully pushed him across after a single just beyond the glove of left fielder Dante Vachini.
After Ben Lumsden forced another walk to load the bases, Hall smashed his sixth home run of the season over the right field fence. The 366-foot blast put WVU’s ahead 8-1.
Brady Estes replaced Naess after he forced Kelly to ground out. Estes forced Shoenfeld to fly out to get out of the fourth inning.
Vinchini led off the top of the fifth with a leadoff single. He reached second after a groundout from the next batter. After another groundout, he advanced to third off a wild pitch.
However, Cole was able to get the last out of the frame via a line out from Kordic.
Despite loading the bases, WVU couldn’t push any more runs across after an inning-ending double play from Lumsden.
Cole’s masterclass
Cole continued his dominant outing with three more punch outs in the top of the sixth inning. That put him at 11 strikeouts through six innings.
Hall led off the bottom half of the frame with a single. However, after Troy Cooper replaced Estes, WVU was retired in order.
After Cole managed to get two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Cal Poly managed to push a run across after a single from Alejandro Garza scored Spiridonoff from third.
Related: Matinee in Morgantown: Super Regional action starts early
Following a mound visit from head coach Steve Sabins, Cole recorded the final out of the seventh via a high fly out to center field.
WVU combined for three straight singles in the seventh following a leadoff strikeout from Smith. With the bases loaded Lumsden slapped a double down the right field line that scored two.
Kresser scored another run after Hall fouled out towards the right field line fence. Cal Poly called upon Josh Morano following the three runs and he managed to get Armani Guzman to foul out to end the inning.
However, West Virginia went into the eighth inning with an 11-2 lead.
WVU closes it out
After totaling 121 pitches through seven innings, Cole was replaced by Reese Bassinger in the eighth. With “Let’s Go Mountaineers” chants beckoning from the crowd, he didn’t allow a Cal Poly run to come across.
Kelly led off the eighth with a double, but was later called out at second after Schoenfeld lined into a double play. Smith walked after that and then Matthew Graveline doubled.
After WVU loaded the bases, Kresser forced a walk and tacked on another run for the Mountaineers. The Mustangs managed to get out of the inning after that, but their deficit fell to 12-2 heading into the ninth.
Carson Estridge came out in the ninth and easily closed out Game 1, giving WVU a 1-0 lead in the series.
History on the horizon
No. 16 West Virginia and Cal Poly will play Game 2 on Saturday, June 6, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET. If WVU wins that, they will advance to the NCAA Baseball Championships in Omaha, Nebraska for the first time in program history.
Starters have not been announced at the time of publication but expect Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Maxx Yehl to be called on to finish the series on Saturday.
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