West Virginia and Cal Poly will open a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional at noon Friday in Morgantown, with Game 1 set for Kendrick Family Ballpark and national coverage on ESPN2.
West Virginia announced right-hander Chansen Cole will take the mound to start the opener. Cole struck out 10 batters, worked six innings and allowed four hits and one earned run in the Morgantown Regional opener against Binghamton, and the Mountaineers enter the weekend 43-15 after beating Wake Forest and Kentucky twice to win the regional.
Cal Poly arrives at its first Super Regional as the Big West champion and the surprise offensive force of the weekend. The Mustangs went 3-0 in the UCLA Regional, beating Virginia Tech once and Saint Mary’s twice, and outscored those opponents 25-5. Senior Ryan Tayman leads the lineup with a.362 batting average, 18 home runs and 56 RBI, and reliever Nick Bonn has converted 17 saves in 27 appearances.
A sellout crowd is expected at Kendrick Family Ballpark, with fans gathering on the hill above the field known as Randy’s Ridge. That home-field energy is the clear counterweight to Cal Poly’s momentum: the Mustangs arrive off a perfect regional run and a 25-5 scoring edge, while West Virginia brings a 43-15 season and the advantage of playing at home before what organizers expect will be about 4,500 fans.
West Virginia coach Steve Sabins said the staff feels prepared but cautious about how the weekend will unfold. He noted Cole will start Game 1, and that subsequent pitching plans remain undecided; how many innings he gets and which arms the Mountaineers use after him will depend on how the game develops. Sabins also cautioned the contest could turn into a quick, punch-counterpunch affair and emphasized the simple imperatives: compete for the first pitch, make plays and play clean baseball.
Cal Poly players have tried to keep perspective. Outfielder Matthew Ineich said the team is focused on the process—taking it one pitch at a time—and that the mental approach doesn’t change whether the ballpark is roaring with 4,500 fans or nearly silent. That steadiness has driven the Mustangs through the UCLA Regional and into a Super Regional they’ve never reached before.
Practical details the reader needs: Game 1 starts at 12:00 p.m. Friday, will be televised on ESPN2, and is the first step in a best-of-three that will decide which team moves closer to the College World Series in Omaha. West Virginia will host fans on Randy’s Ridge throughout the weekend, and organizers expect the game-day environment to be a factor.
The largest open question going into the weekend is straightforward: who will follow Cole if he exits earlier than expected? Sabins repeatedly framed the decision as situation-dependent—how many innings Cole throws and whether the game is a slugfest or a pitchers’ duel will dictate bullpen usage—leaving the next-man-up decision deliberately open. That uncertainty may determine whether West Virginia can blunt Cal Poly’s recent offense and earn the trip to Omaha.
