The West Virginia Mountaineers won their first-ever game in the Men’s College World Series on Friday, beating the Troy Trojans 7-5. West Virginia improved to 46-15 on the season, overcoming an early deficit and leaning on timely hitting and dominant relief pitching to secure the victory.
The Mountaineers wasted little time getting on the board, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Armani Guzman pulled off a daring steal of home.
Troy answered in the second inning on a Jabe Boroff RBI single before West Virginia responded immediately. A two-run double from Tyrus Hall scored Matt Ineich and Brodie Kresser, giving the Mountaineers a 3-1 advantage.
Four-Run Third Inning
The game swung dramatically in the third inning.
Troy plated three runs on a sacrifice fly from Steven Meier, an RBI single by Drew Nelson, and an RBI double from Sean Darnell to take a 4-3 lead. However, West Virginia answered right back when Sean Smith launched a solo home run to left field, his 10th homer of the season, knotting the game at 4-4.
Late-Inning Drama
The Mountaineers regained the lead in the fourth inning when Hall scored on Guzman’s RBI double, putting West Virginia ahead 5-4.
That lead appeared shaky after starter Chansen Cole allowed seven hits and four earned runs over 2.2 innings. But reliever Ian Korn delivered the performance of the night. The left-hander settled the game down, throwing six innings while allowing just two hits and one run with four strikeouts. Korn’s outing prevented Troy from building on its early momentum and earned him the win.
Troy finally broke through against Korn in the seventh inning when catcher Jimmy Janicki blasted a solo homer to left-center field, tying the game at 5-5.
The decisive moment came in the bottom of the eighth.
With runners on base, Hall delivered again, lining a two-run single to right field that scored Ineich and Kresser and gave West Virginia a 7-5 lead. Hall finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs, accounting for more than half of the Mountaineers’ offense.
West Virginia and Troy each collected nine hits, but the Mountaineers capitalized on their opportunities late while Troy stranded eight runners and went just 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Ben Kresser scored twice and collected two hits, while Ineich also crossed the plate twice. Smith added two hits, including the game-tying homer.
Bryce McDougal recorded the final out in the ninth inning to close the door after Korn’s stellar relief effort.
What’s Next?
West Virginia advances in the winner’s bracket and will take on the winner of Ole Miss vs. North Carolina (Friday, 6:00 p.m. ET) on Sunday, June 14th at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
