Dawgs Top Cougs, Gain First Sweep In Season Series

Area baseball

University of Washington all but locked up the Pacific-10 North baseball title Sunday at Seattle, where the middle five hitters in the batting order pounded out 11 hits and drove home 10 runs as the Huskies beat Washington State 16-6.

The victory allowed UW to sweep the weekend series with WSU and, for the first time in school history, the season series. The Huskies have beaten the Cougars 11 straight times, eight of them this spring.

Washington has a two-game lead over Oregon State with four games to play.

Winning pitcher Jeff Lynch (3-4) worked seven innings for Washington (35-17, 16-4), striking out six and scattering 10 hits. He did not walk a batter.

Ryan Soules and Ryan Lentz led the 16-hit Huskies attack with three hits each.

Casey Kelley did most of the damage for Washington State. He and Scott Randall each had three of WSU’s 14 hits, but Kelley’s included two doubles and his 11th home run of the season.

After WSU (13-38, 7-13) scored two runs in the top of the first inning, Washington answered with five of its own.

After Shane Rice, making his first start for the Cougars, walked the first batter and hit the second, four of the next five Washington batters hit safely. Dave Wheeler relieved Rice to record the final two outs.

Soules connected for a three-run homer, his ninth, off Wheeler in the second inning.

After taking final exams, WSU will play host to Oregon State for a four-game weekend Pac-10 North series that will end the regular season.

Washington 16, WSU 6

WSU 200 011 020 - 6 14 4

UW 531 006 10X - 16 16 1

Rice, Wheeler (1), Glaze (6) and Hairston, Smith (6); Lynch, Anderson (8) and Bundy, Woody (7). W-Lynch (3-4); L-Rice (0-2).

Hits: WSUStevenson, Randall 3, Curran, Kelley 3, Mitchell, Bode, Hattenburg 2, Vigeland 2. UW- Magruder, Stefonick, Miller, Soules 3, Williamson 2, Lentz 3, Bundy 2, Whitemarsh, Porter 2. 2B-Kelley 2, Bode, Hattenburg, Vigeland, Stefonick, Williamson, Bundy, Whitemarsh. HR-Kelley (11), Soules (9). A-742.

OSU 5, Portland St. 3

Matt Bailie’s two-run, eighth-inning single gave the Beavers (33-12-1, 14-6) a victory over the Vikings (10-39, 3-17) that kept them in the Pac-10 North race.

Saint Mary’s 4, Gonzaga 0

The Gaels pushed the Bulldogs deeper into the West Coast Conference standings with their shutout victory on Guisto Field at Moraga, Calif.

Saint Mary’s (20-31, 11-13) scored twice in the first inning and twice in the seventh.

Gonzaga (17-31-1, 5-19) scratched out only six singles and left 12 men on base. The Bulldogs also hit into three double plays.

GU 000 000 000 - 0 6 0

SMC 200 000 20x - 4 5 1

Zimmerman, Adams (7), Sazama (7) and Hare; Tracey and Waugh. W-Tracey (5-3). L-Zimmerman (3-5).

HITS: Gonzaga-Murrell, Hare 2, Uberuaga, Knight, Hunt. Saint Mary’s-Donohue, Callen, Wright, Graff, Snow. HR-Donohue (1).

LCSC 19, Eastern Oregon 7

The Warriors continued their push toward the 40-win mark by rolling to their fifth consecutive victory.

Lewis-Clark State improved its record to 43-8-1. The Warriors, trailing 2-1, scored three runs in the third inning, seven in the fourth and eight more in the sixth.

Jose Rijo-Berge led the way with five hits. He scored four runs and drove in four. His hits included his 12th home run and a double. He also stole his 13th base in 13 tries.

, DataTimes