Tyrus Hall delivered a go-ahead, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift West Virginia to a 7-5 victory over Troy on Friday in the opening game of the Men's College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Hall, who was batting ninth, finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs in his team's CWS debut. His first two RBIs came on a second-inning double that gave West Virginia a 3-1 lead. Sean Smith finished 2-for-4 with a solo home run, and Armani Guzman stole home in the first inning to score the game's first run. Brodie Kresser went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Sean Darnell, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, capped a three-run third inning with an RBI double that gave Troy a 4-3 lead. Catcher Jimmy Janicki tied the score at 5-5 in the seventh with a solo home run. He finished 2-for-4, including a double and a walk. Drew Nelson chipped in with two hits, an RBI and a stolen base.

The teams traded the lead multiple times. After Guzman's steal of home put West Virginia up 1-0, Troy tied it in the second before Hall's two-run double put the Mountaineers back in front. The Trojans answered immediately, chasing starter Chansen Cole in the third to take a 4-3 lead. Smith's solo shot in the bottom of the third tied it again, and West Virginia reclaimed a 5-4 lead in the fourth on an RBI double by Guzman. Janicki's blast in the seventh set the stage for Hall's eighth-inning heroics. Reliever Ian Korn was effective for the Mountaineers, pitching six innings and allowing just one run on two hits while striking out four.

Up next: Troy will play in an elimination game Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. West Virginia advances in the winner's bracket and will play Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.

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