Zags win 9th straight
Dustin Colclough was 3 for 4 and Scott Campbell hit his fourth home run of the season as Gonzaga defeated Santa Clara (18-14, 1-3) 5-1 to open a three-game West Coast Conference baseball series Friday at Avista Stadium.
C.J. McClure, Jay Bryner and Brandon Harmon each threw 12/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Bulldogs (22-10, 4-0).
Starter Josh Monroe threw three scoreless innings before an apparent shoulder injury, and closer Cory Powell allowed his first earned run of the season in the ninth.
Gonzaga earned its ninth straight win and has won 15 of 18. The Bulldogs are also 8-0 at Avista this season.
•Brandon Crawford hit a two-out grand slam in the fourth inning and UCLA (17-13, 2-2) nearly blew a nine-run advantage before holding off Washington State 9-5 in a Pac-10 game in Los Angeles.
The Cougars (21-11, 3-4) rallied with five runs in the seventh – including a two-run, pinch-hit single by Scott Suttmeier – and loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth. But two strikeouts and a fielder’s choice ended the rally.
•Washington ace Tim Lincecum threw his second consecutive two-hitter as the Huskies (22-11, 4-3) routed No. 13 Arizona State 8-0 in a Pac-10 game in Tempe, Ariz.
Lincecum, who holds a scoreless streak of 282/3 innings, struck out 12 Sun Devils (23-10, 2-2) and became the third player in Pac-10 history with 400 career strikeouts.
Softball
Amber Fowler (Colville) hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth to give Community Colleges of Spokane a 1-0 win over host Wenatchee Valley to open an NWAACC doubleheader.
In the nightcap, Wenatchee scored five unearned runs in a six-run third inning, and the Knights (13-7, 6-2) hung on for a 14-10 victory.
Tasia Dugan and Melissa Piephoff (Timberlake High) each homered for the Sasquatch (13-5, 7-2).
•North Idaho overcame five errors to defeat Southern Nevada 5-4 in nine innings in the first game of a Scenic West Athletic Conference tripleheader in Coeur d’Alene.
Kelcey Cavan threw 42/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win for the 20th-ranked Cardinals, and catcher Stephanie James had three hits.
After dropping the middle game 5-4 to the Coyotes (7-26, 7-20), the Cardinals (30-10, 18-7) won the nightcap 5-1 behind Cavan’s five-hitter. Michelle St. John had a pair of hits, and Jessica Keeton had three RBIs.
Track and field
Three Washington State competitors earned NCAA regional qualifying marks at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin.
Drew Ulrick (Mead High) won the men’s B section discus with a throw of 180 feet, 5 inches, then eventually finished 11th in the A section with a mark of 174-1.
McKenzie Garberg placed third in the women’s discus with a personal-best throw of 164-7, and James McSwain qualified for the men’s 100-meter final with a time of 10.47 seconds.
Volleyball
Current Gonzaga and former Montana assistant coach Jerry Wagner is one of three finalists for UM’s vacant head coaching position.
The candidates will be interviewed starting the week of April 24, associate athletic director Jean Gee announced. The school expects to hire the new coach in early May.
Basketball
North Idaho College forward Sara Dennehy and guard Stephanie Jones have made oral commitments to play for the University of Idaho, NIC women’s coach Chris Carlson said.
Dennehy averaged 14.7 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Cardinals, who won the Scenic West Athletic Conference title. She was selected first-team All-Region 18 for the second consecutive year.
Jones, a second-team All-Region 18 selection, was second in the SWAC in steals (2.77 per game), second in free-throw percentage (76.9) and seventh in assists (2.8). Jones was honorable mention All-Region 18 last year.
NIC guard Caitlin Courchaine (Central Valley High) has orally committed to Carroll College, an NAIA school in Helena. Courchaine averaged 10.8 points per game and led the Cardinals in field-goal percentage (47.4) and free-throw percentage (86.4).
NIC guard Emily Boscacci has orally committed to Portland State of the Big Sky. Boscacci led the Cardinals with 97 assists.