WVU wins 1st Super Regional game, ties win record
The No. 16 seed West Virginia defeated Cal Poly 12-2 in the first-ever Super Regional contest inside Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
The victory marks WVU’s first Super Regional win in program history, while the Mountaineers also matched their single-season wins record of 44 set in 2025. One more win clinches West Virginia’s first trip to the College World Series.
The Mountaineers commanded the game the entire way through. Two long balls brought in seven runs, with timely hitting mustering the other five. Aside from a Cal Poly home run in the fourth inning, it never posed a true threat to WVU’s lead.
The home runs came from designated hitter Sean Smith for a three-run shot, and third baseman Tyrus Hall delivered a grand slam. Left fielder Ben Lumsden brought home two runs with a double, while first baseman Brodie Kresser added on more with a single.
Right-hander Chansen Cole gave a tremendous start for the Mountaineers, throwing seven strong innings. After fanning a season-high in his last start on May 29, he did it again, punching out 11 Mustangs. Cole offered a season-high 122 pitches, allowing two earned runs on eight hits and a single free pass, moving to 10-1 on the year.
Out of the bullpen, right-handers Reese Bassinger and Carson Estridge threw a scoreless inning each.
To begin the game, Cole saw an easy two outs, then allowed his first base hit. A floyout sent the Mountaineers up, where they got the offense rolling. Right fielder Armani Guzman attacked the first pitch, turning a typical base hit into a hustle double. After an out, center fielder Paul Schoenfeld walked before Smith skied a 402-foot home run off the scoreboard.
After an inning, WVU saw an early 3-0 lead.
What looked to be the Mustangs’ counterpunch in the second inning was quickly quelled. After a leadoff double from Cam Hoiland, Cole retired the next six hitters, all with strikeouts. In that time, WVU saw two chances, going three up, three down twice.
The Mustangs got to Cole in the fourth inning with a leadoff home run by Dylan Kordic over the right field wall, then Cole had to battle for the next three outs. Two batters reached with a single and a hit by pitch, while Cole mixed in two strikeouts. With runners on the corners, he added his ninth strikeout with a swing and a miss, escaping the frame.
In the bottom of the fourth, WVU exploded for five runs. Smith started the frame with a double, as an out, and a walk followed. Kresser drove in Smith with a single to center field before another walk loaded the bases. Three pitches later, Hall sent a heater into the Mountaineers’ bullpen for a grand slam.
After four innings, WVU led 8-1.
In the fifth inning, Cole allowed a leadoff single, then retired the next three batters. WVU saw a chance to blow the game completely out of reach, loading the bases with no outs, but failed to bring a runner home.
The next inning, Cole picked up two strikeouts, setting his new season-high. Hall led off the bottom half with a single, but stayed at first base as the next three hitters were retired.
Cal Poly got a run back in the seventh inning. Cole got two outs, but also allowed two singles, setting up a base dropped in front of Schoenfeld for an RBI, before a flyout ended the frame and Cole’s outing. The Mountaineers snatched any momentum the Mustangs had with three runs in the bottom half. After an out, Smith, shortstop Matt Ineich and Kresser recorded singles, loading the bases. Lumsden placed a double down the right field wall, scoring two. Hall brought Kresser home with a sacrifice fly to the second baseman in foul territory.
Through seven innings, WVU led 11-2.
Right-hander Reese Bassinger jogged to the mound, starting the eighth inning. He allowed two runners from a single and a walk, but left them on with three weak outs. Catcher Gavin Kelly got in the action in the bottom half, with a leadoff double, but was thrown out the next batter, getting hung up on a lineout. Smith followed with a walk, then catcher Matthew Graveline just missed a home run of the tallest part of the left field wall for a double. Ineich walked, loading the bases, before Kresser saw another walk for a run to score.
Going into the ninth inning, WVU led 12-2.
For the final three outs, Estridge came into the game and worked a one-two-three inning.
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