West Virginia cools off Troy's hot bats to keep its College World Series run going with a 12-0 win

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Dawson Montesa held Troy to two hits while pitching into the sixth inning, West Virginia's bullpen worked out of two bases-loaded situations and Gavin Kelly hit a three-run homer as the Mountaineers ended the Trojans' first College World Series appearance with a 12-0 victory Tuesday.

The Mountaineers (47-16) have reached the final four in their CWS debut and will face North Carolina in the Bracket 1 final. They would have to beat the Tar Heels on Wednesday and again Thursday to reach the best-of-three championship round this weekend.

West Virginia, which beat Troy 7-5 in the CWS opener Friday, was in a must-win situation after losing 5-2 to North Carolina on Sunday. The Mountaineers, who staved off elimination three times to win their regional, will face a well-rested North Carolina team that has allowed four runs in their last 22 innings.

The Mountaineers won for the 19th time in 22 games and posted their seventh shutout of the season, and they did it against a team that was averaging 10 runs per game in the postseason.

West Virginia scored two runs against Cooper Ellingworth (2-5) and made it 6-0 against Dylan Alonso after its first two batters in the sixth inning were retired. The next five reached, with Kelly going deep and Sean Smith singling in another run. Kelly finished with three hits and four RBIs.

“That team is so good and they can score in bunches,” West Virginia coach Steve Sabins said. “If you’re up two, you have to extend. Even if you’re up six, you feel their big inning is around the corner. So you have to put your foot on the gas to win a game like that. Then we had pitchers come in and make big pitches.”

Montesa (6-5), who pitched for Division II Adelphi in New York last year, walked four, hit a batter and struck out six in 5 1/3 innings in his first start since May 31.

“Obviously the biggest stage I’ve pitched on,” he said. "Same game — Division I, Division II, Little League; it’s a children’s game. Go out and pound the zone and play like it’s your last game.”

Montesa held Troy hitless into the fourth inning and left with one out in the sixth with two runners on base. Reliever Ben McDougal issued a two-out walk to load the bases before he induced an inning-ending groundout.

The Trojans loaded the bases again in the seventh, this time with none out. Reese Bassinger came on to face Blake Cavill, who struck out for the seventh time in 13 CWS at-bats. He got Jimmy Janicki to fly out and struck out Steven Meier to keep Troy scoreless.

The Trojans had erased a four-run deficit to beat Mississippi 12-8 on Sunday, but there would be no comeback this time. Bassinger struck out five of the first six batters he faced and turned the ball over to Carson Estridge in the ninth with a 12-run lead.

“While it’s painful and should be, a bad day in 0maha is certainly better than a good day most places,” Troy coach Skylar Meade said. “We were one of the last teams standing, but not meant to be.”

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports