Zags lash seven doubles to topple USD in opener
The Gonzaga Bulldogs opened a crucial West Coast Conference baseball series with a 12-4 victory over the University of San Diego Friday at Avista Stadium.
The win gave Gonzaga (26-18, 13-8) a two-game Coast Division lead over the Toreros (27-24-1, 13-12). The teams meet today and Sunday at Avista, each game beginning at 1 p.m.
The Bulldogs roughed up WCC pitcher of the month Josh Butler (7-6) for 13 hits and seven earned runs, scoring four times each in the fifth and sixth innings.
Winning pitcher Josh Monroe (8-3) recovered from last weekend’s rocky outing with seven strong innings, assisted by several outstanding defensive plays. Monroe allowed three hits, walked two and struck out three before an hour-long rain delay ended his afternoon.
Gonzaga had seven doubles among its 14 hits, including a pair by Jackson Brennan. Scott Campbell, Jeff Culpepper, Kyle Thibault, Aaron McGuinness and Shawn Wayt also had two hits apiece, and Wayt drove in three runs with a bases-loaded, sixth-inning double. Jordan Abruzzo homered for USD, his 10th, in the second inning.
•Whitworth’s non-conference game with Lewis-Clark State was postponed because of rain in Lewiston. The teams will make up the game Sunday at noon.
Softball
Community Colleges of Spokane’s Jessie LaPlante allowed two hits and struck out five in a five-inning, 9-0 victory over Yakima Valley in the first game of an NWAACC doubleheader in Yakima.
Jessica Miles went 4 for 4 for the Sasquatch (22-12, 18-6) and drove in four runs.
In the nightcap, CCS again made quick work of the host Yaks, winning 11-3 in five innings. Morgan Thomsen homered and scored three runs, and Monica Judd had two doubles and two RBIs.
CCS remains three games behind East Division leader Columbia Basin (26-6, 20-2) with four games to play.
•Washington used three homers to defeat Arizona State 8-0 in a five-inning Pacific-10 Conference game at Tempe, Ariz.
Kathy Fiske opened the scoring for the 20th-ranked Huskies (29-16, 9-7) with a three-run homer off Sun Devils pitcher Desiree Serrano.
In the third, Aimee Minor added a two-run shot, then Dominique Lastrapes ended the game with a three-run homer with two outs in the fifth.
•The Community College of Southern Nevada defeated North Idaho 6-2 at the NJCAA Region 18 softball tournament at Salt Lake City, ending the Cardinals’ season. NIC finishes the season 25-33.
Women’s golf
Washington State University, ranked No. 25, is tied for ninth entering the final round of the NCAA Division I West Regional in Las Cruces, N.M.
USC leads the tournament at 14-over-par through 36 holes. The Cougars are 31 over, two shots behind Oklahoma State and Oregon, which are tied for seventh. The top eight teams advance to the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Maria Kostina leads the Cougars at 6-over after shooting 75, putting her in a tie for 16th place. Big West Conference champion Renee Skidmore of Idaho, who shot 79, is tied for 63rd at 12 over.
California’s Sophia Sheridan leads the tournament at 2-under 142.