Saturday witnessed history being made at Kendrick Family Ballpark. West Virginia University reached the College World Series for the first time in its 135 years of history, beating Cal Poly by 17-1. However, winning the Morgantown Super Regional was not the only news that came out of the ballpark.

A sudden strong wind battered the ballpark and sent 5 fans to the hospital. They were injured as severe storms blew the tents.

“Thousands of fans packed Kendrick Family Ballpark in Granville on Saturday. But their hopes of watching the Mountaineers punch their ticket to Omaha were temporarily put on hold as dangerous severe storms swept through the sold-out venue,” the New York Post reported.

The game was in the eighth inning when the strong wind ravaged the ballpark.

The now-viral footage shows winds reached speeds of around 40 mph. It tore up the tents and even tossed one fan to fly through the air while they tried to hold it down. Another fan was seen rolling down a hill. Still, a bigger accident was averted as most of the fans took shelter at Randy’s Ridge near the Kendrick Family Ballpark.

“I was just trying to hold my weight on the pole with the cement block. Then it started sliding, and then another guy joined in. He’s trying to hold another pole, and then a big gust of wind came,” West Virginia fan Keith Hill told WAJR radio. “It just started sliding really hard, and people got caught up in the ropes and the poles.”

Chaos happened outside the stadium as well.

FOX Weather reported that there were severe weather warnings and urges from stadium personnel to evacuate and seek shelter. Roughly 10 people huddled under a small tent. A dangerous gust ripped the large white Mountaineer Athletic Club tent, and the massive tent hurled right towards their tent. It crashed in a nearby car parking lot.

“It was intense, and we went right into survival mode,” James Sanders, who was at the venue, noted. “We were picking our chairs up and getting ready to leave, and then the gust came in and picked the tent up, and then everything went sideways.”

Per West Virginia University police, 5 people were sent to the hospital for further treatment. The game resumed from the eighth inning after the weather delays. And just what the sold-out venue was waiting for, the Mountaineers routed Cal Poly and ensured their College World Series berth.

The storm affected thousands across the nearby Pittsburgh area as they were without power on Saturday afternoon, per CBS Pittsburgh. The 911 officials called it a “mass casualty event.”

“While it was a great day for Mountaineer baseball, all of Mountaineer Nation’s thoughts are with those who were involved,” WVU Athletics said in a statement.

West Virginia athletics spokesperson Michael Fragale also ensured that they “have been in touch with health-care providers in the area to ensure those affected are supported in their recovery.”

But on the field, the Mountaineers led a storm from both ends of the ball.

The Mountaineers proved to be a tough nut to crack

It was a historic season for Cal Poly as well, as they made their first-ever Super Regional appearance. However, the Mountaineers proved to be a tough nut to crack.

They outscored Poly by 29-3 over the two games. For the Mountaineers, they dominated from both ends on Saturday.

“They were clearly the better ball club,” Cal Poly coach Larry Lee shared.

Poly started the game 1-0 after the first inning, but the second inning ended the game when the Mountaineers scored 7 runs.

The Mountaineers fielded 12 batters in the lineup; except for 4, all others scored runs. Armani Guzman was clearly the showstopper on Saturday as he returned with 2 runs and 3 RBIs from his 5 at-bats, which included a homer. He scored the homer in the third inning, which was also his first HR of this season.

“I’ve been trying to hit home runs for a while, and I finally got one today,” Guzman recalled.

The pitching staff was no less dominant than their batting counterparts.

Maxx Yehl started the inning and allowed just 1 run in his 5 innings with 4 SOs. Meanwhile, the bullpen steamrolled the opponent.

Ben McDougal, David Hagen, and Ian Korn all offered scoreless innings to secure their World Series berth.

Amid the violent wind creating chaos in the ballpark, West Virginia University’s storm on the field proved far more fatal for Cal Poly.