Cougs close out year with blowout victory

Grant Richardson drove in five runs to help Bryce Chamberlin earn his eighth victory of the season as the Washington State Cougars closed out the season with a 13-3 victory over the California Bears in Pacific-10 Conference action at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman on Sunday.

Richardson hit his team-leading 13th home run of the season, a three-run shot in the sixth inning, and also knocked in runs in the first and seventh as the Cougars took the rubber game of the three-game series.

Chamberlin (8-3) tossed six shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six. Reliever Garrett Alwert was roughed up for three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but the Cougars answered with a five-spot in their half of the inning to end the game because of the 10-run mercy rule.

WSU finished the season with a 29-26 record overall and a 9-15 mark in Pac-10 play. Cal closed out the season at 25-31, 9-15.

•Kyle Larsen’s one-out, two-run single capped a four-run ninth as the 13th-ranked Washington Huskies rallied for an 8-7 victory over the UC Irvine Anteaters in non-conference play at Husky Ballpark in Seattle.

The Huskies completed a three-game sweep to improve to 37-18-1 on the season.

Washington came through in the ninth against NCAA saves leader Blair Erickson, who had put the finishing touch on 17 Anteaters wins coming into the game.

Huskies reliever Josh Conover allowed one run in five innings of work to pick up his first win of the season.

Rowing

Western Washington was poised to win its first NCAA Division II national team championship when disaster struck on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif.

The top-ranked Vikings’ varsity 8 had a rower catch a crab, her oar getting stuck in the water on the recovery portion of her stroke, ending their title hopes.

Mercyhurst College (Pa.), Humboldt State and Florida Institute of Technology raced by and WWU was forced to settle for fourth place.

Mercyhurst’s victory gave it the team title. WWU finished third.