From staff reports

The Spokane Velocity’s season opener – and first game in franchise history – ended with a loss.

The Mariners Training Center opened to the public Saturday for the first time and to much fanfare.

Four Washington State batters had multiple-hit games to back a solid outing from starting pitcher Grant Taylor, and the Cougars opened Pac-12 Conference play with a 7-1 win over Utah on Friday at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.

Eastern Washington finds itself in a familiar spot entering this weekend’s Big Sky Tournament as the No. 1 seed – so familiar that David Riley is choosing not to shy away from talking about last season’s first-round exit.

Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona are the clear-cut No. 1 and No. 2 women’s teams in the Big Sky Tournament bracket, and they have the advantage of playing on the second, fourth and fifth days of the event if all goes to seed.

As the Spokane Velocity get set to kick off the club’s inaugural season, head coach Leigh Veidman is stressing patience while the expansion team develops an identity and solidifies its roster.

“I think everybody wanted Luis in the league to be honest,” Velocity FC head coach Leigh Veidman said. “He fit the profile I was looking for.”

A season flush with victories just became one flush with individual awards for the Eastern Washington women’s basketball team.

Eleonora Villa led Washington State women's basketball with 17 points, but the Cougars lost 65-44 to California in Wednesday's opening round at the Pac-12 Tournament.

The end of Jake Groves' wild college basketball journey is fast approaching. In a five-season stretch that has included stops at three different NCAA Division I schools in three different leagues, Groves has played in a whopping 144 games, a result of his COVID year. The Shadle Park alum remains hopeful that his final games result in a return to the NCAA Tournament.