MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Interstat) — West Virginia unleashed a pair of early home runs and never looked back, routing Cal Poly 12-2 on Friday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.

The Mountaineers improved to 44-15, while the Mustangs dropped to 39-23.

West Virginia struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Armani Guzman doubled and Paul Schoenfeld walked before Sean Smith launched his ninth homer of the season over the left-center wall, plating three runs for a 3-0 lead.

Cal Poly had taken a brief 2-0 advantage in the top of the first on an unearned run, but the Mustangs could not sustain the momentum. In the top of the fourth, Dylan Kordic tied the game with his 10th home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center.

The tie lasted only a half-inning. West Virginia answered with a five-run bottom of the fourth that turned the game decisively. Smith doubled and scored on Brodie Kresser’s single. After a walk to Ben Lumsden, Tyrus Hall crushed a 1-0 pitch over the right-field fence for a grand slam, his sixth homer of the year. The blast scored Matt Ineich, Kresser and Lumsden, giving the Mountaineers an 8-3 lead.

Hall finished with five RBIs, adding a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. Smith also had a double and a single, scoring three times and driving in three.

West Virginia starter Chansen Cole worked seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out eight. He left after the seventh, having retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced. Relievers Reese Bassinger and Carson Estridge closed out the game without further damage.

Cal Poly’s pitching struggled to contain the Mountaineers’ lineup. Starter Brady Estes surrendered four runs in 2 2/3 innings, and relievers Troy Cooper, Josh Morano, Arlo Pendleton and Sean McGrath combined to allow eight runs on 10 hits over the final four frames.

The Mustangs managed their second run in the top of the seventh. Gavin Spiridonoff singled, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on Alejandro Garza’s single to center. Garza’s hit cut the deficit to 8-4, but West Virginia quickly answered.

In the bottom of the seventh, Lumsden doubled home Graveline and Ineich. Hall then lifted a sacrifice fly that scored Kresser, making it 11-4. West Virginia added another run in the eighth when Kresser drew a bases-loaded walk, plating Sean Smith.

Cal Poly finished with nine hits, led by Kordic’s homer and Garza’s RBI single. West Virginia pounded out 14 hits, including doubles from Guzman, Smith, Lumsden and Gavin Kelly.

The game began in the afternoon but stretched into early evening as the Mountaineers methodically built their lead. West Virginia’s bullpen allowed no runs over the final two innings.

For Cal Poly, the loss snapped a three-game winning streak. The Mustangs had swept a midweek series at Saint Mary’s and taken two of three at UC San Diego before traveling to Morgantown.

West Virginia, meanwhile, continued its strong postseason push, having won six of its last seven games, including a series victory over Kentucky in the NCAA tournament.

The Mountaineers’ offensive outburst was keyed by Hall’s grand slam, which broke open a tie game and gave West Virginia the momentum for good. In the fourth inning, the Mountaineers sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs on four hits, including the pivotal homer.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cal Poly 8, West Virginia 7. Interstat’s ELO system gave West Virginia a 65.20 percent probability to win. The Mountaineers were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 2.5 runs.