WVU claims 1st CWS victory, defeating Troy 7-5

The No. 16 seed West Virginia defeated Troy 7-5 in its first College World Series game in program history inside Charles Schwab Field Friday afternoon.

West Virginia will play the winner of North Carolina and Ole Miss, who will play at 7 p.m. ET on Friday. The Mountaineers’ next game is at 7 p.m ET on Sunday, June 14.

In a back-and-forth affair, WVU’s two runs in the eighth inning gave it the advantage. Third baseman Tyrus Hall added his fourth RBI with a two-run single, giving WVU the late lead.

Designated hitter Sean Smith hit a solo home run, and first baseman Armani Guzman both tallied an RBI. First baseman Brodie Kresser and shortstop Matt Ineich were table setters, scoring two runs each. In total, WVU and Troy both saw nine hits, while the Trojans left seven on base, with the Mountaineers leaving six.

Mountaineer history was made as right fielder Armani Guzman totaled his 39th steal of the season. He broke Victor Scott II’s single-season record set in 2022.

Getting the start for the Mountaineers was right-hander Chansen Cole. He did not see his usual success, lasting just 2.2 innings. Tory had a beat on his pitches, totaling seven hits and scoring four runs. Cole struck out two while allowing three extra-base hits in his 52 pitches.

In a long relief effort, right-hander Ian Korn tossed six frames, keeping the game balanced. He struck out four and allowed four runners to reach, allowing just one earned run.

Korn got to two outs in the ninth, with southpaw Ben McDougal coming in to earn his first save of the season on three pitches.

To begin the game, Cole saw a flyout before hitting the next batter. A strikeout and lineout held the runner at first base. WVU came up and got into the scoring column. Leading off, Guzman chopped a grounder to the second baseman, who didn’t handle it, letting the ball go into shallow right field. Guzman was able to advance to second base and got to third on a dropped third strike. With two more outs, Guzman took inative, stealing home and diving into the plate before the tag.

The lead didn’t last long as Troy scored a run in the second inning. With two outs, Sean Darnell placed a double in the right center field gap and was brought home by a single from Houston Markham a batter later. WVU took the lead right back in its turn. Ineich led off with a fiesty walk after falling behind 0-2. Kresser singled through the right side of the infield before left fielder Ben Lumsden moved them one base with a sacrifice bunt. Hall capitalized, jumping on the first pitch for a double off the left center field wall, scoring both.

Troy snatched the lead back, getting one of its own in the third inning. With one out, Troy saw a single and a double before Steven Meier brought one in with a sacrfice fly to left field. Drew Nelson saw an RBI single to center field, and Darnell brought him home with a double out of reach of the diving center fielder, Paul Schoenefeld. This brought right-hander Ian Korn into the game, who got the last out. The Mountaineers evened the score thanks to a solo home run from Smith that left the park in a hurry.

After an eventual three innings, the game was tied at four apiece.

Korn worked an easy one-two-three inning in the fourth, then WVU regained the lead. With two outs, Hall walked and Guzman scored him with a shallow double into left field.

The game saw its first scoreless inning in the fifth as one Trojan and two Mountaineers reached base safely.

After another quiet inning, Troy made some noise in the seventh. With two outs, Jimmy Janicki crushed a hanging slider for his 20th home run of the season. WVU went down in order with the game tied at five.

In the eighth inning, Korn allowed a leadoff single before sitting down the next three batters. In the bottom half, Ineich and Kresser singled. They were moved up a base from a sacrfice bunt by Lumsden. Hall took advantage of the scoring opportunity, chopping a ball over the first baseman’s head, bringing Ineich and Kresser home.

WVU held a 7-5 lead going into the ninth.

In the last inning, Korn saw a deep flyout for the first out. He struck out the next batter, then allowed a walk. McDougal came in and induced a pop-up in foul ground, ending the game.

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