Whits end Linfield’s win streak

Whitworth ended Linfield’s 108-match Northwest Conference winning streak in women’s tennis with a 7-2 victory Sunday in Salem, Ore.

The Wildcats’ previous conference loss was to Whitworth in 2002.

No. 1 Rachel Burns, No. 4 Mya Towne, No. 5 Erica Bosman and No. 6 Katie Staudinger won in singles for the Pirates (12-2, 11-0 NWC), and Whitworth swept the doubles with victories by Burns and Alli Marshall at No. 1, Towne and Linh Aven at No. 2 and Staudinger and Justine Hayes at No. 3.

Linfield fell to 9-3, 9-1 NWC.

Baseball

Rylan Sandoval’s RBI single in the eighth inning proved the winning run as Long Beach State avoided a three-game sweep with a 6-5 win over Washington State in nonconference action at Long Beach, Calif.

WSU (5-9) left 13 runners on base, including runners in scoring position each of the final three innings.

Cougars reliever Michael Ratigan (0-1) took the loss. WSU’s Alex Burg extended his hitting streak to eight games.

•Pacific swept a doubleheader with Whitworth, winning 5-0 and 14-5 at The Dalles, Ore., for its first two conference wins of the season.

Tyler Fransen (3-1) threw a complete-game two-hitter to win the opener for the Boxers (5-10, 2-8 NWC). Pacific got a complete game in the nightcap, too, with Blaine Knuth going the distance for his second victory of the season.

Peter Birdwell (1-3) and Chad Flett (1-1) were the losing pitchers for the Pirates (3-11, 1-8 NWC).

Softball

Whitworth and Pacific Lutheran split a doubleheader on a windy day in Pasco, with the Pirates winning the opener 8-4 and the Lutes winning the nightcap 11-7 in eight innings.

Kelly Ayers (1-5) earned her first victory of the season in the opener for Whitworth (3-9, 2-6 NWC), and Sami Parr went 3 for 3 with two RBIs to help the Pirates rally from an early 3-0 deficit to beat PLU (7-9, 6-4 NWC).

In the nightcap, Whitworth held leads of 4-0 and 7-4, but the Lutes rallied for the victory. The Pirates’ Jessica Mangis dropped to 2-4. Caty Lieseke was 3 for 4 with four RBIs for the Whits.

Wind gusts topped 40 mph throughout the day.

•Community Colleges of Spokane committed two errors in the sixth inning that led to two Illinois Central runs as the Cougars defeated the Sasquatch 3-2 at the Phoenix Community College Spring Classic.

CCS (10-2) finished in sixth place at the 22-team tournament, going 4-2. Both losses were by one run.

Michelle Wells hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 1, and the Sasquatch had the tying run at third base in the seventh before Illinois Central was able to hang on for the victory.