GRANVILLE — West Virginia baseball had bases loaded and an out. The Mountaineers No. 9 hitter, Tyrus Hall, came up to the plate. Hall isn’t known as a power hitter, and has only hit five all season before Friday afternoon.

Hall sent the ball to the opposite field and hit a grand slam to put the Mountaineers up big in the fourth innings to eventually beat Cal Poly 12-2 in the first game of a three-game series in the Morgantown Super Regional. WVU is now just one win away, either Saturday at noon or Sunday with a to-be-determined time, from its first-ever trip to Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series.

“It was great,” Hall said. “Coming up in that scenario, and the first thing is I hear all the fans. I’ve never played in front of that many people. It was great to have that support. It was a 2-0 count. I’m just looking dead-red, looking for a pitch to drive. It happened to get out. Great experience.”

Hall hadn’t hit a homer since May 16 against TCU. He’s had a strong postseason and had five hits in the regional. Hall had the big grand slam, but he also had another hit, totaling a team-leading five RBIs.

“Tyrus Hall has been absolutely incredible for us,” head coach Steve Sabins said. “Came up with a massive hit for us. Grand slam.”

Hall’s homer to right field wasn’t the only thing to get former WVU football player and ESPN media personality Pat McAfee, who was in attendance, to his feet. In the first inning, with two runners on, Sean Smith drove a ball to left center, hitting the scoreboard. Quickly, WVU was up 3-0.

Smith had a monstrous day and was a triple away from the cycle. Smith had three hits and three RBIs. Amarni Guzman also kept his bat hot and had two hits. Ben Lumsden had a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh to give him a six-game hitting streak. The Mountaineers totaled 14 hits and eight walks on the afternoon.

With a big lead, it made it a lot easier for starter Chansen Cole to deal on the mound. Cole impressed in his first start of the Morgantown Regional, throwing his best game of the season, but he managed to top it in the first game of the super regional.

Cole went seven innings and had a season-high 11 strikeouts. There was a point where Cole struck out six straight batters. Cal Poly’s Dylan Kordic was the only batter Cole didn’t strike out.

“It’s just trusting the routine that you have,” Cole said. “And all the preparation and work you’ve done.”

Cole had runners on the corners early in the game, and WVU was only up a couple of runs. Cole struck out the final batter, ending any chance of life for Cal Poly, showing no nervousness. The Division II transfers only blemishes were a solo home run from Kordic and a single in the seventh from Alejandro Garza to score a run. But WVU had a comfortable 8-2 lead. He threw 121 pitches and didn’t walk a batter.

“Chansen Cole came out and set the tone very early,” Sabins said. “That’s a really good team, a really good offensive team… And Chansen Cole does what he does: That’s win. Guy is a winner.”

A combination of Reese Bassinger and Carson Estridge pitched the final two innings. Both threw 20 or fewer pitches, keeping them as options for the rest of the series.

With Cole picking up the win and going the distance, the Mountaineers can pitch ace Maxx Yehl in Game 2 to close it out and have their top relievers if needed. Cal Poly pitched its second-best pitcher in Game 1, Griffin Naess, and saved its ace, Carson Turnquist, for Saturday. But the Mustangs used far more bullpen arms.

Game 2 will be back at Kendrick Family Ballpark at noon and streamed on ESPN2. The Mountaineers will be the away team, as the NCAA rotates home and away. Teams that won the first game of the series in the super regional have a 79% chance of advancing, according to ESPN. WVU has won its last four games.

“This weekend is all about winning the series,” Sabins said. “It’s kind of back to normal baseball — how we’ve played all year. Gotta win two games to advance.”