Zags clinch WCC title

Caleb Wood hit a three-run home run and Gonzaga beat host Santa Clara 6-1 Saturday to clinch the West Coast Conference regular-season baseball title for the second time in school history.

The Bulldogs’ last regular-season crown came in 2009. The win secured the top seed for Gonzaga heading into the WCC tournament May 23-25 in Stockton, Calif.

Gonzaga (30-14-1, 17-6) scored five runs in the fifth to break a 1-all tie. With the bases loaded, Mitchell Gunsolus hit a double to drive in a couple of runs. Wood followed with his three-run blast, his third of the season.

Tyler Olson earned the win after giving up one run in seven innings.

The Bulldogs and Broncos (10-34, 0-20) complete the three-game set today.

• Cole Irvin pitched seven strong innings, leading No. 6 Oregon (36-11, 18-5 Pac-12) to a 6-3 win over Washington State (20-22, 7-13) at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.

The Cougars scored all of their runs in the first three innings. Brett Jacobs and Patrick McGrath both had sacrifice flies and WSU scored another thanks to a Ducks error.

The series concludes today.

• Dan Scheibe stymied Pacific Lutheran (22-17) through 7 2/3 innings and Whitworth (14-23-1) blanked the Lutes 6-0 at the Inland Cellular Tournament in Lewiston.

Scheibe allowed one hit and three walks while striking out seven.

Gerhard Muelheims went 3 for 3 with two walks and scored twice to lead the Pirates.

Whitworth will play top-ranked Linfield and Lewis-Clark State today in a day-night doubleheader.

• Treasure Valley (32-8, 19-5) swept Community Colleges of Spokane (22-18, 13-11) in an NWAACC doubleheader at Spokane Falls Community College.

The Chukars won the opener 9-5 and the nightcap 6-1.

The Sasquatch’s Chad Nyquist had two hits and scored twice in the first game. CCS was limited to three hits in the nightcap.

• Joe Meggs’ sacrifice fly in the eighth proved to be the difference as Washington (16-28, 8-12) edged Arizona (28-17, 9-11) 2-1 in a Pac-12 Conference game in Tucson, Ariz.

Track and field

Washington State’s Spencer Wordell is in fifth place after the first day of the Pac-12 Combined Events Championships in Los Angeles.

Wordell scored 3,710 points and is 490 points behind leader Jeremy Taiwo of Washington.

WSU’s Sean Harris injured his lower leg and was forced to drop out.

• Idaho’s Liga Velvere won the 400-meter hurdles in a season-best time to guide the Vandals at the Vandal Jamboree in Moscow, Idaho.

Velvere crossed in 58.64 seconds, which improves her second-place rank in the Western Athletic Conference. She ranks 13th in the NCAA West and 28th in the NCAA nationally.

Idaho’s Johanna Hocketstaller led a 1-2 finish in the shot put with a season-best toss of 49 feet, 3 inches.

Washington State freshman Kristine Felix won the pole vault after clearing a personal-best height of 13-1 1/2 – the fifth-best mark in WSU women’s history.

Eastern Washington’s Brianna Okoro reached 18-10 1/2 in the long jump to take second place.

Softball

Community Colleges of Spokane (24-16, 18-8) swept Walla Walla (18-25, 12-14) in an NWAACC doubleheader at Spokane Falls Community College.

The Sasquatch won the opener 2-1 thanks to RBI singles from Tasji Urhausen and Lindsey Walchli in the sixth inning.

Megan Skillingstad hit a solo home run in the second game and CCS won 4-1.

The wins secured the Sasquatch’s second-place finish heading into the conference tournament.

CCS has a doubleheader at Big Bend next Saturday to end the regular season. The NWAACC Championships will be held May 17-20 in Portland.

• Shawna Wright and Kylee Lahners had three hits apiece to guide No. 13 Washington (35-14, 13-7) to an 11-8 Pac-12 Conference win over Utah (24-28, 7-16) in Salt Lake City.