Linfield edges Whitworth for title

Whitworth College finished one victory short of capturing the Northwest League softball championship on Sunday.

Trailing Linfield Colllege by one game entering the day, the eighth-ranked Pirates needed to sweep the conference season-ending doubleheader to overtake the second-ranked Wildcats.

Jessie LaPlante made sure the Pirates (30-6, 25-3) took care of business in the first game, pitching a complete game for her 18th victory and also contributing offensively with a two-run homer in the Pirates’ 3-1 victory, ending Linfield’s 18-game winning streak and setting up a one-game showdown for the conference championship.

But Linfield (35-5, 26-2) got four RBIs from Amanda Attleberger in the nightcap on its way to an 8-0, five-inning victory to earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament.

Whitworth could still earn its second consecutive at-large berth when the field is selected on May 15.

•Danielle Lawrie pitched a one-hit shutout to lead Washington (32-13, 9-6) to an 8-0, six-inning Pacific-10 Conference victory over Oregon (39-14, 4-11).

Baseball

Hector Estrella’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning capped a three-run inning and propelled Southern California (23-22, 6-9) to a 10-8 Pacific-10 Conference victory over Washington State (21-20, 4-11) at Los Angeles.

•Gonzaga University (27-21, 10-5) dropped a conference series for the first time this season after losing 10-2 to San Francisco (23-23, 6-9) at San Francisco.

Darin Holcomb hit his sixth home run of the season for GU. He was 3 for 4.

•The Whitworth Pirates finish the Northwest Conference season in a three-way tie for sixth place after a 7-1 loss at Linfield.

Linfield (22-14 overall, 17-7 NWC) jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after four innings. Kevin Mills had a run-scoring single in the third inning and a two-run single in the fourth.

Whitworth (13-24, 9-15) got its only run on consecutive two-out singles by Ryne Webb, Joel Tampien and J.J. Jones in the fifth.

Rowing

The Gonzaga University men’s rowing team captured a first-place finish (Second Varsity 8+) and two second-place finishes (Varsity 8+, Novice 4+) at the WIRA Championship at Lake Natoma, just outside Sacramento, Calif.

•In the women’s races, Gonzaga captured two golds and a silver, winning the Varsity 8+ and Novice 8+ races while finishing second in the Second Varsity 8+ race.

Tennis

Sacramento State won the conference title with a 4-0 decision over Eastern Washington at the Big Sky Conference Championships in Gold River, Calif.

EWU finished 14-12, its second consecutive winning season.