Shanna Rose | WV Spirts Chat
OMAHA, Neb.-West Virginia opened its first-ever College World Series appearance with a 7-5 win over Troy in a back-and-forth thriller on Friday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field.
Tyrus Hall had a pair of hits and drove in four RBIs for the Mountaineers (46-15). It was the junior’s two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning that broke a 5-5 tie and lifted WVU past the Trojans (38-31).
Sean Smith added two hits, including his 10th home run of the season, while Brodie Kresser collected two hits and scored twice.
Ian Korn (6-1) earned the win, tossing six innings and giving up one run on two hits while striking out five. Ben McDougal picked up his first save on the season, recording the final out of the game when Jimmy Janicki popped out foul to Kresser at first base.
Armani Guzman got the Mountaineers on the scoreboard first when he stole home in the first inning but Troy struck in the top of the second to tie the game at 1-1.
Hall drove a two-run double off the wall in left-center field to retake a 3-1 advantage.
The Trojans responded with three runs in the third inning to move ahead 4-3, but Smith wasted little time answering, launching a solo home run in the bottom half of the inning to even the score at 4-4.
WVU took the lead in the fourth when Hall drew a two-out walk and later scored on Guzman’s double.
Janicki blasted his 20th home run of the season to tie the game at 5-5 in the seventh but the Mountaineers put the game away in the eighth. Matt Ineich and Kresser hit back-to-back singles to start the inning before Ben Lumsden moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Hall then hit a bouncing ball to first base that skipped over the first baseman’s head, allowing two runs to score and putting WVU ahead for good.
Korn recorded the first two outs of the ninth before issuing a walk and head coach Steve Sabins turned to McDougal to get the final out.
The Mountaineers will face the winner of North Carolina and Ole Miss on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
