Sports in brief: M’s Lee sharp in rehab start

BASEBALL: Seattle Mariners left-hander Cliff Lee tossed six shutout innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday.

Lee, working his way back after straining his abdomen during spring training, allowed three hits, struck out four and walked none against Salt Lake. He threw 68 pitches.

Lee retired the first nine batters he faced.

Lee is expected to make his Mariners debut against Texas on Friday at Safeco Field.

Associated Press

Whitworth sweeps NWC golf

Whitworth University won the Northwest Conference men’s and women’s golf championships on Sunday, in the process claiming two automatic berths in the Division III national championships.

The Whitworth women held off sixth-ranked George Fox on Sunday to win the conference championship and advance to the NCAA tournament (May 11-14 at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.,) for the first time. Emily Guthrie won the individual championship when she made par on the first playoff hole to defeat Sarah Bicker of Puget Sound. Guthrie had rounds of 80 and 79 for a total of 159, 15-over par at Heron Lakes Golf Course in Portland.

Whitworth had a team score of 654, 78-over par to defeat George Fox by three strokes.

Ryan Young of Whitworth won the men’s individual championship by one stroke over Max Bonk of Pacific. Young had rounds of 74 and 77, leading the Pirates (618 total, 42-over par) to a two-stroke edge over Puget Sound. Whitworth advances to the national tournament (May 11-14 at Hershey, Pa.) for the second time.

Eskendereya out of Kentucky Derby

HORSE RACING: Eskendereya, the likely favorite for this year’s Kentucky Derby, was declared out of the race Sunday morning because of an injury to his left front leg, according to trainer Todd Pletcher.

The winner of the Grade I Wood Memorial reportedly has filling in that leg, an ailment Pletcher said he first noticed Saturday morning.

“We looked at it, worked on it overnight and we haven’t seen an improvement,” Pletcher said. “He’s too special of a horse to take any chances with. I spoke with (owner) Ahmed Zayat this morning and we decided to stop here. The horse is not lame, he is slightly off. I haven’t felt like his last couple of gallops have been up to what we normally see.”

Lexington Herald-Leader