Baseball

Cal Poly Drops Morgantown Super Regional Opener

Box Score | Interactive Bracket | Cal Poly Postgame Press Conference
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Big West champion Cal Poly fell to No. 16 national seed West Virginia by a final score of 12-2 to open the Morgantown Super Regional of the 2026 NCAA Baseball Championship, Friday at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
 
The Mountaineers take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series with a berth to Omaha on the line. The two teams will play game two on Saturday, June 6 at 9 a.m. PT on ESPN2. If a third game is necessary, it will be contested on Sunday, June 7 with a start time to be determined the night before.
 
With the result, the Mustangs drop to a 39-23 overall record, while West Virginia improves to 44-15.
 
Cal Poly amassed nine hits, two coming from right fielder Dylan Kordic, who also had one RBI and one run. Third baseman Alejandro Garza had the other RBI for the Mustangs.
 
Mountaineer ace Chansen Cole (10-1) threw 7.0 innings of two-run ball while collecting 11 strikeouts in the process. West Virginia compiled 14 hits with third baseman Tyrus Hall and designated hitter Sean Smith recording five and three RBI, respectively.
 
The Mountaineers got off to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a three-run home run from Smith.
   
Cal Poly responded in the top of the fourth with a solo homer from Kordic.

An RBI single and a grand slam from West Virginia in the bottom of the frame put the Mustangs in an 8-1 hole.

In the top of the seventh inning, Garza plated Gavin Spiridonoff on a single to give Cal Poly its second run of the game. The Mountaineers scored three more runs in the bottom of the seventh and one in the eighth to account for the final score of the game.

The Mustang offense had opportunities, but left one runner on base in the first, second and fifth innings, and two runners in the eighth. Cal Poly was retired in order in the third, sixth and ninth innings. Reliever Brady Estes came into the game with two outs in the fourth inning and threw 1.1 innings of shutout ball. Fellow bullpen arms Josh Morano and Sean McGrath each came into the game needing one out to escape jams in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, and were able to get the necessary out without damage to end the frame.