Gonzaga tops Rider
Gonzaga scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and beat Rider 9-4 in a non-conference baseball game Saturday at Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field in Spokane.
The Bulldogs took advantage of three Rider errors in the eighth to go ahead by the final margin.
CJ McClure (3-0) earned the win for Gonzaga (14-10), which has won four in a row, including all three at its new field.
“Ben Trotter’s grand slam capped a seven-run seventh and gave Illinois-Chicago a 14-11 non-conference win over Washington State at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.
Matt Weldon picked up the win for the Flames while Steve Kost took the loss for the Cougars.
WSU fell to 11-7 on the season while Illinois-Chicago improved to 5-9.
“Whitworth and George Fox split a Northwest Conference doubleheader at Merkel Field in Spokane. In the first game, the visiting Bruins took a 9-0 lead after scoring five runs in the sixth. Nick Bratney (5-0) pitched a complete game for George Fox, allowing seven hits and no earned runs.
The Pirates won the second game 9-4.
Whitworth jumped ahead when Dan Ramsey’s double brought home a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first.
Starter Brandon Zimmerman (3-2) earned the win for Whitworth (6-11, 4-4) while Chris Albrecht (4-1) took the loss for the Bruins (14-1, 7-1).
“Brian Yardley went 4 for 5 with seven RBIs as Community Colleges of Spokane routed Centralia 19-1 in the first game of a non-conference doubleheader.
The Sasquatch scored nine runs in the fifth to take a 13-1 lead. Aaron Guinn picked up the win for CCS.
In the second game, Mark Serino pitched seven innings, allowing one run on three hits as CCS won 9-1.
Dustin Crespo went 4 for 5 and Cole Janini was 3 for 5 for the Sasquatch (8-6).
“Big Bend split a non-conference doubleheader with Thompson River. The Vikings won the first game 5-4 before falling 6-3.
Track and field
Eastern Washington senior Sarah Hegna qualified for the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships after placing first in the pole vault at the Dusty Lane Invitational at Spokane Falls Community College.
Chad Butorac led the men, taking first in the 200 meters (22.09 seconds) and the 400 (48.84).
“Two members of the Washington State track and field team took first place in their events at the Baldy Castillo Invitational at Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
Meghan Leonard won the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10 minutes, 45.20 seconds.
On the men’s side, John Cassleman won the 400-meter hurdles in 52.78 seconds
Swimming
Gonzaga Prep graduate C.J. Nuess of Arizona State placed 16th in the men’ 1,650-yard freestyle at the NCAA Men’s Division I Championships at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Nuess finished in 15 minutes, 9.45 seconds.
The Auburn men won the overall title.