Big third inning lifts GU past Wolverines

Junior Evan Wells went 4 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs Wednesday as Gonzaga defeated Utah Valley State 7-2 in non-conference baseball play at Patterson Baseball Complex.

GU scored five runs in the third inning to support junior pitcher C.J. McClure, who went five innings, gave up one earned run and struck out five.

The bullpen did the rest, closing out the final four innings in the final game of the three-game series.

Senior Marcus McKimmy also added two hits and two RBIs for the Bulldogs (12-8).

Sophomore Jace Brinkerhoff and freshman Kai Hatch were a combined 7 for 10 for the Wolverines (4-12-1). Brinkerhoff scored two runs and had an RBI.

The Wolverines out hit the Bulldogs 13-11.

Golf

Gonzaga’s women placed 11th at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.

The Bulldogs finished 90 strokes behind Oklahoma State (880), which captured the team title over Arizona by three strokes. Rachel Sibbitt (237) led the Bulldogs with a 24th-place finish, 24 shots off the pace of medalist Alison Walshe of Arizona.

Ellie Brophy, a Gonzaga Prep graduate and a member of the Yale University golf team, shot a 229 for a 13th-place finish.

•Downriver Golf Course will open today on 18 permanent greens. Esmeralda Golf Course opened Wednesday on 16 permanent greens.

Women’s basketball

Mandy Troutt (Pullman) scored a game-high 19 points as Lewis-Clark State College (28-4) defeated McKendree University 69-49 in the opening round of the NAIA Division I tournament at Jackson, Tenn.