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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Crimson Tide, Sooners reach WCWS finals

Alabama teammates congratulate Jazlyn Lunceford (2) after she hit a home run against California. (Associated Press)

Softball: The Pac-12’s run of Women’s College World Series championships has been interrupted.

Jackie Traina homered and threw a two-hitter, Kaila Hunt and Jazlyn Lunceford also connected and Alabama beat top-seeded California 5-2 in Oklahoma City on Sunday to reach the Women’s College World Series finals for the first time.

The No. 2 seed Crimson Tide (58-7) will face Oklahoma (53-8), which knocked off defending champion Arizona State 5-3 in the other semifinal. Both teams arrive on 11-game winning streaks.

The best-of-3 championship series starting tonight marks the first time since 1986 that no Pac-12 teams made it to the finals. The conference had won six straight titles, 10 of the past 11 and 23 of 30 since the tournament started.

Oklahoma is in the finals for the first time since winning its only national championship in 2000, when the title was decided with a single game.

Katie Norris homered, Keilani Ricketts struck out 13 and the Sooners struck for four runs in the third inning against Dallas Escobedo (24-8) to take control against the Sun Devils.

Texas takes third NCAA men’s title

Golf: Texas won its third NCAA men’s golf championship, defeating Alabama on a 20-foot birdie putt by senior Dylan Frittelli at Rivera in Los Angeles.

With the match tied at two, Frittelli, who is from South Africa, came to the 18th hole all square with Cory Whitsett. After Whitsett’s birdie chip came up well short, Frittelli drained his birdie opportunity.

Alabama took the first two of the five matches. Hunter Hamrick defeated Julio Vegas 6 and 5, while Bobby Wyatt knocked in a 30-foot chip from behind the green to down Toni Hakula, 1 up.

Texas then won the next two matches. Jordan Spieth closed out fellow freshman, Justin Thomas, 3 and 2, while Cody Gribble went 3-0 in match play, defeating Scott Strohmeyer, 2 and 1, leaving Frittelli to earn the Longhorns’ third championship.

Texas also won NCAA championships in 1971 and 1972, when PGA Tour golfers and major championship winners Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite were on the team.

Charles leads Sun charge over Mystics

WNBA: Tina Charles had 30 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and the Connecticut Sun held off the Washington Mystics 94-86 in Uncasville, Conn.

Kara Lawson had 18 points and four assists for the Sun. Asjha Jones added 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.

• Lynx top Silver Stars to remain unbeaten: Maya Moore and Rebekkah Brunson each scored 17 points and the Minnesota Lynx held off the San Antonio Silver Stars 83-79 in Minneapolis.

Lindsay Whalen had 15 points and seven assists for Minnesota (7-0). Seimone Augustus added 14 points.

Dartmouth repeats as national champs

Rugby: Dartmouth repeated as national champions, beating Arizona 24-5 in the third annual USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship in Chester, Pa.

Dartmouth’s Will Mueller led the Big Green with two tries and Kevin Clark and Will Lehmann had one each, while Arizona’s Brett Thompson scored the Wildcats’ lone try on the final play of the first half.

Both Arizona and Dartmouth entered the championship match 5-0 in the 16-team, two-day round-robin tournament. The Big Green had beaten its previous five opponents by a combined 146-36, while Arizona had defeated its opponents by a combined 149-38.

Irish Mission captures Woodbine Oaks

Horse racing: Irish Mission came on down the stretch to win the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks.

Irish Mission, a 9-1 pick with Alex Solis aboard, finished the 1 1-8-mile event in 1:50.50 on Woodbine’s polytrack in Toronto to earn the $300,000 winner’s share.

Northern Passion was second, with Awesome Fire taking third in the nine-horse field.

The Oaks is the opening leg of the filly Triple Tiara, which also consists of the $250,000 Bison City Stakes on July 1 and the $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes on July 29.

U.S. plays to draw in friendly with Canada

Soccer: The United States played a scoreless draw against Canada in Toronto.

Canada was seeking its first win against the United States since a 2-0 victory in Vancouver, B.C., on April 2, 1985. The U.S. holds a 13-8-10 advantage in the series.

Idaho State booster prompts NCAA probe

Miscellany: An NCAA investigation at Idaho State reportedly was prompted in part by a letter written by a former interim men’s basketball coach warning of a booster willing to pay quality players.

The Idaho State Journal reported that former interim coach Deane Martin sent the letter on March 6 to athletic director Jeff Tingey a day after Martin didn’t get picked as the full-time coach.

The newspaper reports Tingey responded by telling Martin the letter contained potentially slanderous statements, and that Martin then sent the letter to the NCAA.

The newspaper obtained the letter from a university employee.

Martin, Tingey and the NCAA declined comment.

• Jaguars rookie receiver arrested on DUI charges: Jacksonville Jaguars first-round draft pick receiver Justin Blackmon was arrested on an aggravated DUI charge after authorities in Stillwater, Okla., said he had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

The former Oklahoma State star smelled of alcohol when an officer pulled him over shortly after 3 a.m., Stillwater police spokesman Capt. Randy Dickerson said.

Blackmon agreed to take a breath-alcohol test and blew a .24 – three times the legal limit of .08, Dickerson said.

Under Oklahoma law, a driver can be charged with aggravated driving under the influence when a test shows .15 or greater.

Blackmon was released from jail on $1,000 bond. He’s due in court today.

Blackmon was previously arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge in Texas in 2010 after officers caught him speeding on a suburban Dallas highway.