Area roundup: Washington State baseball rallies for 11-inning home win over Saint Mary’s
Dillon Plew was involved in the two key moments Thursday when Washington State (3-6) opened a four-game home series against Saint Mary’s (7-4) with an 11-inning, 7-6 nonconference baseball win.
Plew’s bases-clearing double to right-center in the seventh inning tied the game at 6.
The game was still tied at 6 when Blake Clanton singled off Nick Sparks (0-1) to open WSU’s 11th. Andres Alvarez sacrificed Clanton to second base before Plew walked on a 3-2 pitch.
Clanton moved to third on James Rudkin’s flyout to right. With Justin Harrer at the plate and the count 1-1, Plew broke for second base and drew an errant throw from Sparks that sailed into center field.
WSU’s Cody Anderson (1-2) pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 11th to earn the win.
The Cougars struck for single runs in the second and third on Jack Smith’s RBI single and Cal Waterman’s bases-loaded walk on a 3-2 pitch.
The Gaels responded with a four-run fourth, highlighted by Dylan Robertson’s three-run homer to left-center.
Clanton’s RBI single in the fifth cut the deficit to 4-3, but Jackson Thoreson of Saint Mary’s collected a two-run double in the sixth.
Smith doubled, Waterman was hit by a pitch and Clanton had an infield single to set up Plew’s tying three-run double in the seventh.
WSU relievers Bryce Moyle, Ryan Walker and Anderson combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out six.
Women’s basketball
Lower Columbia 84, North Idaho 63: Cherita Daugherty led five players in double figures with 22 points and the Red Devils (23-8) cruised past the Cardinals (19-10) to open the Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament in Everett.
Lower Columbia built a 21-7 lead late in the first quarter and boosted its advantage to 20 points by midway through the second quarter.
Shanay Dotson scored 20 points, and Hayley Niles added 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Red Devils, who shot 54 percent from the field.
Whitney Meier led the Cardinals with 24 points, hitting 6 of 12 on 3-pointers. Sydney Hovde had 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Cierra Dvorak added 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Lower Columbia will meet Bellevue (21-8) in Friday’s quarterfinals. NIC was eliminated.
The men’s tournament begins Saturday, also in Everett. Community Colleges of Spokane (21-8) will open against Tacoma (12-13) at 4 p.m. NIC (21-8) closes out the day, meeting Lower Columbia (20-8) at 10.
Softball
CC Spokane 14-1, South Mountain CC 10-4: Katelyn Sage finished 4 for 5 and Allison Hochhalter went 3 for 5 as the Sasquatch (4-2) scored four runs in the ninth to defeat the Cougars (7-20) in the first game of a doubleheader in Phoenix.
Kirsten Anstrom went 3 for 4 for CCS in the second game. CCS’ Tyler Carver checked the Cougars on five hits in the second-game loss.
The Sasquatch had five doubles in the opener.
Southwestern Oregon 9, North Idaho 5: Jesse Blanton finished 3 for 4 with two doubles and two runs batted in to lead the Lakers (4-6) past the Cardinals (9-1) at Columbia Playfields in Richland.
NIC’s Kayla Curtan finished 3 for 3 with a solo home run in the seventh inning.