OMAHA, Neb. — A pair of Division II transfers toed the rubber to start Friday’s Men’s College World Series opener between West Virginia and Troy.
It was the one that came on in relief, however, who made the biggest impact in the Mountaineers’ 7-5 victory over the Trojans at Charles Schwab Field.
Ian Korn spelled Chansen Cole with two outs in the third inning and the Trojans leading 4-3 at the time, having tagged Cole for seven hits across the last 10 batters he faced.
“We saw Chansen Cole get hit a little bit for basically the first time all season,” WVU coach Steve Sabins said.
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Korn, who spent the previous four seasons at Seton Hill, would go on to throw six innings of one-run ball, allowing only two hits to go with four strikeouts and three walks as he improved to 6-1 this season.
“What Ian Korn did in that game to stabilize it to go six innings, two hits,” Sabins said, “was nothing short of miraculous.”
Jabe Boroff, the first batter Korn faced, drew a walk, and the right-hander threw 12 balls to 11 strikes over his first 23 pitches.
From that point forward, he peppered the zone on a consistent basis through the rest of an outing that featured 51 of 79 pitches for strikes.
“I was throwing some more cutters than usual,” Korn said. “Slider wasn’t working. We threw some more curveballs. So we were mixing up a little more than usual, kind of against the scouting report they probably had. So our goal was just to go out there and throw strikes, and that’s what I did.”
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Jun 12, 2026; Omaha, NE, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers pitcher Ian Korn (18) reacts against the Troy Trojans during the ninth inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
Mixing pitches to keep the Trojans off balance as he best he could made Korn’s outing especially effective.
“I saw every single one of his pitches,” said Troy left fielder and No. 6 hitter Drew Nelson. “I think he had five, and I saw all five. Being able to mix and match and attack the strike zone like he did, that’s how you succeed.”
The six innings from Korn matched his lengthiest outing as a Mountaineer, tying the 18 outs recorded on May 14 against TCU in one of his three starts this season.
Korn has been used in relief 20 times in 2026, but has thrived in any role.
For the year, he has a 2.95 earned-run average over 76.1 innings with 67 strikeouts and only 13 walks.
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The Mountaineers are 18-5 in games Korn has appeared in.
After retiring the first two Trojans in the ninth, Korn was within one out of finishing off the victory.
He then walked Blake Cavill and Sabins elected to replace Korn with left-hander Ben McDougal with Jimmy Janicki at the plate representing the tying run. Janicki had connected for a solo home run in the seventh inning that tied the game at 5, and the WVU head coach didn’t like the idea of Troy’s top hitter seeing Korn for a third time after he’d walked on four pitches and blasted the long ball in his previous two plate appearances.
“Matchup wise, we just believed that left-handed was better against Janicki in that situation,” Sabins said. “Korn was kind of cruising, and so we knew that Korn was going to face the first three hitters [of the ninth inning], and if it got to Janicki, we were going to go to McDougal. But after he clips off two quick outs, then it’s a walk, you’re like, damn, I wish we weren’t in that spot, right. Because the guy’s throwing strikes and handling the moment. And so there’s always that unknown when you bring somebody out of the bullpen in the big moment.
“With McDougal, he’s so convicted and he’s been in those moments so many times. At the end of the day, what I told myself is you’re either playing to win or you’re playing to lose essentially. So you’ve got to play to win, because it’s the right matchup with the right kid and the extra bases, right versus left, is completely different. He’s been a different hitter this year versus left-handed fastball. So we just had to go rip the Band-Aid off and do that.”
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WCHS) — Records show containment issues predated a massive warehouse fire in Wood County, West Virginia.
The facility, formerly REO Processing West Virginia, is now Peoples Cartage. The company states it acquired the operation in September 2024, although the regulatory responsible-party name was not updated until May 2025.
County commissioners say they’ve learned to deal with disasters like this, including the Ames plant fire in 2017.
“They can shed light on what, to answer that to other people too,” said Jimmy Colombo, a county commissioner and former mayor in Parkersburg. “We are very interested in the health and well-being of our community just as you are and it’s a major concern for us that we do follow through what we’re supposed to be doing too.”
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According to documents from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the company, the buildings and others under their umbrella have had several issues over the last half-decade plus.
In June of 2025, the state spill hotline got a call about a fire at the facility that involved the combustion of calcium hypochlorite hazardous waste, which is often called Cal Hypo for short.
That’s a powerful and unstable solid chlorine that’s commonly used to sanitize swimming pools and clear bacteria.
This underlying issue led to the West Virginia DEP inspecting the facility. They found an accumulation of Cal Hypo in floor sweepings.
The agency said the company failed to minimize the possibility of fire, explosion or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of hazardous waste or waste constituents to the environment.
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Last September, Peoples Cartage submitted a plan of corrective action that outlined how and when they would become compliant with all the issues.
The WVU Medicine St. Joseph’s Rural Health Clinic is now accepting newborns at its Buckhannon office, with two providers — Rachel Burns, CPNP, and Sara Chipps, FNP-C — taking new pediatric patients. Read more →
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CHARLESTON, WV — The West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are reminding drivers that speeding has legal consequences. As part of the Speeding Slows You Down high-visibility enforcement campaign, drivers will see more law enforcement on the roads. West Virginia’s mobilization runs from July 6 through July 31, 2026.
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This campaign is designed to underscore the grave consequences of speeding and urge motorists to reduce their speed. This mobilization emphasizes the commitment of law enforcement to curb speeding behaviors and raise public awareness regarding the increased presence of officers on our nation’s roads during this mobilization period.
Speeding-related fatalities affect communities nationwide every year. In 2024, there were 11,288 speed-related traffic fatalities, accounting for 29% of all traffic fatalities. Young drivers have a higher chance of being involved in speeding-related crashes. In 2024, 39% of male drivers and 20% of female drivers in the 15- to 20-year-old age group involved in fatal traffic crashes were speeding.
In West Virginia, in 2024, speeding-related fatalities decreased 8% from the previous year, from 85 to 78. Our ultimate goal is zero fatalities, which points toward the importance of campaigns like this.
“Speeders don’t just put themselves in danger of serious injuries and death, they put other road users, including passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists, at risk as well. We are asking drivers to please slow down; our goal is to save lives, and we’re putting all drivers on alert. The posted speed limit is the law. No excuses,” said Jack McNeely, GHSP Director.
The consequences of speeding can lead to a costly ticket, potential jail time, or worse, a crash resulting in injuries or death.
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For more information on speeding, visit NHTSA.gov/Speeding.
For more information about the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program, visit highwaysafety.wv.gov or call 304-926-2509.
Flood debris piles along Route 85 have been growing for more than a week. PHOTO: Chris Lawrence
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia National Guard will be dispatched this week to the areas of Boone, Raleigh, and Logan Counties which are under a State of Emergency today.
The Governor declared the State of Emergency following heavy rains on June 22nd which caused high water that damaged more than 120 homes in Boone County alone.
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“Missions like this we’ve done in the past. It’s basically conducting debris removal operations,” said Captain Mike Garcia of the West Virginia National Guard.
The number of guard personnel who will be activated is not yet known, but Garcia guessed it would be in the neighborhood of 15. The teams will be equipment operators with loading and hauling equipment to move household debris to a collection location.
“We’ve got loader teams, dump teams, and skid-steers and we’ll go around those areas and take any debris caused by the weather and the flooding and it is piling up, we’ll be able to remove that, ” he explained.
Garcia said at this point there has been no mission to haul relief supplies to victims as has been done in previous flood events. They are also disallowed from doing any work to assist homeowners on their own private property.
“West Virginia National Guard is not legally authorized to enter or conduct work on private property. Residents need to move any debris and bring it to the curb so that as we get on the ground, we’ll be able to assess where it will go,” Garcia added.
