In one of the anticipated games of the Opening Rounds of the College World Series, Troy and West Virginia would get things underway with a stellar baseball game as the two exchanged haymakers, trying to gain just the smallest of grounds. Just two scrappy baseball teams playing on the biggest stage, trying to get some mometum heading into the meat of the College World Series. 

Coming into the West Virginia and Troy matchup, the college baseball world expected to see a scrappy matchup with two teams that don’t mind getting a little dirty. West Virginia would set the tone for the game with Armani Guzman stealing home and earning the first run of the game for either team. From there, things were on a heater, and the Mountaineers and Trojans would be in for an all-out war. 

West Virginia would jump out on Troy 3-1 after two complete innings, before the Trojans fought back with vengeance with two outs in the top half of the third inning with a three-run inning to take a 4-3 lead over the Mountaineers. Sean Smith would tie the game for West Virginia with a solo shot into the left field bullpen to tie the game at four. West Virginia and Troy would trade blows, with the Mountaineers taking a 5-4 lead into the 7th inning, before a deep solo shot to left field off the bat of Jimmy Janicki tied the game at five, swinging the mometum in the direction of the Troy Trojans. West Virginia would flip the script in the bottom of the 8th with a base hit from Tyrus Hall that scored Matt Ineich and Brodie Kesser to take a 7-5 lead to the 9th inning. 

With this much offensive firepower on both sides, pitching today might be a bit stretched as each pitching staff tries to navigate this much offense, but so goes it in baseball. Starting on the road today for West Virginia would be Chansen Cole, while on the other side for Troy, it would be Benjamin Stubbs. Chansen Cole from West Virginia would be the first pitcher to be pulled after 2.2 innings, giving up seven hits, four runs, with only two strikeouts. Stubbs would have a similar leash after being pulled after 3.2 innings, giving up five hits, five runs, and four strikeouts. Neither starter could find the sweet spot today before the ball to Zach Crothfield for Troy, and Ian Korn from West Virginia, as both guys were tasked with calming things down. 

In the end, the two-run bottom 8th inning was too much for Troy to overcome as West Virginia heads to the winners’ bracket, where they’ll face the winner of Ole Miss and North Carolina, and the loser will play Troy. West Virginia fans showed up in droves, and the Mountaineers continue their magical run in the postseason as they’ll now play on Sunday night. 

Photo Credit: WVU baseball on X