Pirates victorious

Ben Spaun won both hurdles races and ran a leg on Whitworth’s winning 4x400-meter relay team as the Pirates won the men’s title at the Northwest Conference track and field championships Saturday in Newberg, Ore.

Whitworth, winning its first title since 2001 and only the third in meet history, totaled 196 points to unseat defending champion Linfield by 15 points, earning Pirates coach Toby Schwarz honors as NWC coach of the year. The Pirates women finished third with 97.5 points, well behind champion Willamette’s 224.5.

Spaun was named the meet’s outstanding male athlete for a 30.5-point performance that started with a runner-up finish in the NWC decathlon two weeks ago. On Saturday, he won the high hurdles in 15.06 seconds and led teammate Matthew Perry in a 1-2 sweep of the intermediates in a personal-best 54.43. The senior from Wenatchee also ran the leadoff leg on the concluding relay, which clocked 3:18.64.

Jeff Kintner, Friday’s winner of the shot put, doubled back to take the discus with a throw of 149 feet, 9 inches, and was fourth in the hammer. Senior Brandon Howell won his first NWC title in the 800 in 1:54.05, with teammate Emmanuel Bofa second – both also running legs on the winning relay.

Kristen Dormaier led the Pirates women with a 27-point effort, including a third-place finish in the triple jump.

•Linnea Braun broke the Community Colleges of Spokane record in the women’s javelin with a throw of 163-8 to highlight the Duane Hartman Invitational at Spokane Falls. Her coach, Ryan Weidman – competing for the Bigfoot Track Club – won the men’s event at 225-8.

•Eastern Washington’s Mattie Bridgmon won a 5,000-meter race at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., in a school-record time of 16:47.65.

Baseball

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (22-16, 4-6) needed a seven-run third inning to ground the Portland Pilots (17-22, 2-9) 9-8 at Washington Trust Field in West Coast Conference action.

Gonzaga sent 13 batters to the plate in the crucial inning, and Drew Heid was one of seven players to score. He was 3 for 3 on the day with an RBI. Gonzaga starter AJ Proszek earned the victory despite allowing five earned runs in six innings.

•Brad Glenn hit a one-out two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the 22nd-ranked Arizona Wildcats (24-11, 5-6) to a 6-5 victory over the Washington State Cougars (19-17, 3-8) in Pac-10 Conference play in Tucson, Ariz.

Travis Coulter’s run-scoring groundout in the top of the ninth had given the Cougs a 5-4 lead. Reliever Seth Harvey (0-1) surrendered Glenn’s homer and took the loss.

•Lewis-Clark State College (40-4) set an NAIA record by pitching 51 consecutive scoreless innings and it swept a doubleheader from Corban College by scores of 5-0 and 8-1 at LCSC’s Harris Field.

LCSC lost the scoreless streak in the fifth inning of the second game when Corban scored on an error.

•The Washington Huskies (24-13, 4-4) snapped a four-game losing steak with a 7-4 win over host No. 8 California (25-10-2, 6-5) in Pac-10 play. UW’s Doug Cherry broke a 2-2 tie with a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth.

•Community Colleges of Spokane (14-14, 5-10) fell to Columbia Basin CC 13-2 in the first game of an NWAACC doubleheader at Spokane Falls CC. Braden Friesz went 2 for 3 in the losing effort. CCS rebounded in the second game for a 6-5 win over the Hawks (24-11, 8-7). Cody Reeves was 2 for 4 with an RBI and Cory Keighbaum was 2 for 4.

Softball

Whitworth (13-18, 10-9) lost a Northwest Conference doubleheader 17-3, 6-4 to Willamette (22-6, 16-4) in Salem, Ore. Nikki Franchi earned wins in both games.

•UCLA (38-5, 10-2) pitchers Megan Langenfeld and Anjelica Selden combined to throw a two-hit shutout as the No. 5 Bruins cruised to a 4-0 win over No. 22 Washington in Pac-10 play in Seattle. The win gave UCLA a season series sweep.

Tennis

The Whitworth women earned second place at the Northwest Conference tournament, losing in the championship match 5-4 to Linfield College. Linfield swept the top three singles matches, but Whitworth Katie Staudinger and Taryn Smith won the No. 3 doubles match.

The Whitworth men finished fifth at the Northwest Conference tournament Friday with a 6-3 win over Puget Sound. Whitworth fell 5-4 to Willamette in the first round.

•The Gonzaga men and women lost 4-0 decisions during the second day of the West Coast Conference Championships in Moraga, Calif. The women fell to Loyola Marymount. Portland dropped Gonzaga on the men’s side.

Golf

The Washington State men tied for second at the Ping Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah, thanks to a pair of 6-under-par 210 scores from Nick Ellis and Austin Hurt. WSU finished with a 6-under 858 with host Brigham Young. New Mexico State won with an 11-under 853. Boise State’s Troy Merritt was medalist with a 8-under 208.

Rowing

The Gonzaga women had three boats earn second place in the first round of the Charles River Challenge in Boston.

Soccer

Gonzaga alum Grant Lundberg, Jake Moug and Jay Vela (CCS) each scored for the Spokane Spiders in a 3-2 preseason win over Whitman at the WSU Soccerfest in Pullman. Cesar Lira recorded five saves for the Spiders, who will face the Vancouver Olympics at 2 p.m. today in another preseason game at Greyhound Park in Post Falls.