Cougars hit 3 consecutive HRs

Alex Burg, Derek Jones and Greg Lagreid hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the first inning Saturday to launch the Washington State Cougars to a 5-4 Pac-10 baseball victory over Arizona at Bailey-Brayton Field.

The Wildcats (16-18, 3-11) evened the score at 3 in the fifth, but WSU (17-16, 7-4) responded with Michael Weber’s homer in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. WSU added an insurance run in the seventh and Jeremy Johnson picked up his fifth save after allowing one run in the ninth.

WSU hit three consecutive homers for the first time since May 4, 2003, against Washington.

•Also in the Pac-10: Freshman Trevor Bauer fired a one-hit complete game as UCLA (16-20, 8-6) thumped visiting Washington (14-21, 4-7) 13-0 at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

•WCC: Bryant Krause hit a two-out, three-run homer in the eighth inning to carry Portland to a 3-2 home victory over No. 22 Gonzaga (25-11, 7-4).

AJ Proszek pitched seven shutout innings, but the Pilots (19-17, 3-8 WCC) rallied against reliever Cody Martin with Krause’s eighth homer.

Softball

Pac-10: Ashley Charters scored the game’s lone run on Jenn Salling’s hard grounder to first base in the ninth inning, lifting Washington (33-7, 6-4) past Oregon State (22-21, 3-8) 1-0.

•Scenic West Athletic Conference: Amanda Krier slugged three more home runs – giving her five in four games this weekend – as North Idaho College (32-19, 28-14) crushed Colorado Northwestern (0-38, 0-38) 26-2 and 23-4 in Rangely, Colo.

•Northwest Conference: Jessica Mangis pitched a complete-game one-hitter to help Whitworth (15-15, 11-9) earn a split of its home doubleheader against No. 7 Willamette (26-3, 19-3). Mangis (10-7) struck out seven and retired 14 in a row at one point. Willamette scored 10 runs in the first two innings to cruise to a 13-0 victory in the opener.

•Yakima Crossover: The Community Colleges of Spokane Sasquatch (26-7) won two of three games in first-day play. CC Spokane opened with a 4-1 win over Everett, lost to Bellevue 8-6 in eight innings and closed with an 11-5 win over Clackamas. Michelle Wells had five hits, including two doubles and a home run, on the day for the Sasquatch.

Rowing

Griggs Reservoir: Washington State’s women won two of eight races while falling to No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Michigan State in Columbus, Ohio. The Cougars’ second varsity 8 claimed both wins.

•Fawley Cup: Gonzaga’s men captured their 19th Fawley Cup in 20 years as they swept Washington State in all seven races at the 2,000-meter course on Silver Lake in Medical Lake.

Track and field

Spike Arlt Invitational: Lateashea Currie sprinted to wins in the 100 meters (12.43 seconds) and 200 (25.18) as CC Spokane won the women’s title at Central Washington University. CWU won the men’s title. Erica Cox of Whitworth won the hammer throw (157 feet), while the Pirates’ Jeff Kintner won the shot (55-4¾).

•Mt. SAC Relays: Washington State junior Trent Arrivey cleared a personal-best 7-41/2 in the high jump at the relays in Walnut, Calif. Arrivey’s mark ties him for fourth best in school history with Doug Nordquist (1981). His mark also ties the national leader, Minnesota’s Matt Fisher, entering the weekend. WSU’s Jeshua Anderson ran a season-best 14.16 in the 110 hurdles, but later he fell in the 400 hurdles. The Cougars’ 4x400 women’s relay team of Princess Joy Griffey, Lorraine King, Brittnay Crabb and Veronica Elseroad-Wall ran a season-best 3:43.46.

•Beach Invitational: Eastern Washington’s Amanda Peterson finished second in the javelin with a personal-best throw of 150-10 at Long Beach, Calif. Teammates Michelle Coombs finished fourth with a toss of 146-9.

Tennis

Northwest Conference Championships: Linh Aven and Mya Towne came from behind to win a key doubles match, spurring Whitworth to a 6-3 win over Linfield in the championship match at the Yakima Tennis Center. The Pirates (21-4) claimed their first NWC women’s crown since 1997 and earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. Linfield (17-5) saw its seven-year streak of NWC titles come to an end. Whitworth’s Jo Wagstaff was named NWC coach of the year. Rachel Burns and Alli Marshall were first-team All-NWC selections. Katie Staudinger, Erica Bosman and Towne were named to the second team. … Whitworth’s Michael Shelton made the NWC men’s first team and teammate Joe Wales made the second team.

West Coast Conference Championships: Rika Mehndiratta and Danielle Farmer posted wins but the Gonzaga Bulldogs lost 4-2 to Loyola Marymount in the second round in San Diego.

Women’s golf

Northwest Conference North Championships: Liz Martin shot an 84 to lead the Whitworth women to a second-place finish at Apple Tree Golf Course in Yakima. Medalist Natalie Nakamine’s 81 led first-place Puget Sound.