Area roundup: Cougars unleash offense in Pac-10 baseball win
Patrick Claussen went 4 for 5 with a triple, double and five runs batted in to power the Washington State Cougars (19-19, 5-12) to an 11-6 victory over the Washington Huskies (12-27, 3-11) in Pacific-10 Conference baseball action on Saturday at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.
Derek Jones joined the hit parade for the Cougars with a 4-for-5 effort that included a double and two RBIs. Taylor Ard and Matt Argyropoulos each drove in a pair of runs for WSU.
Chad Arnold was the beneficiary of the Cougars’ offensive onslaught, allowing him to pick up his first victory of the season. Arnold (1-3) allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings. He surrendered eight hits and issued four walks.
Aaron West (1-8) took the loss for the Huskies. He lasted just three innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk.
• The Whitworth Pirates (20-19, 13-10) banged out a season-high 19 hits and breezed to a 14-1 victory over the Whitman Missionaries (4-30, 3-20) to complete a Northwest Conference doubleheader sweep in Walla Walla.
Liam O’Brien (3-3) fired 7 1/3 shutout innings in the opener – lowering his earned-run average to 2.45 – as the Pirates notched a 10-2 victory.
Landon Scott led the way at the plate for Whitworth with six hits, including a solo home run, on the day.
Michael Takemura and Nick Ashley each had three hits in the first game.
J.R. Jarrell belted a grand slam and Ashley hit a solo shot to highlight the Whits’ win in the nightcap.
Eric Anderson (3-1) allowed one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win.
• The Treasure Valley Chukars (28-5, 13-5) posted a 10-0, 4-2 doubleheader sweep over the visiting Community Colleges of Spokane Sasquatch (16-18, 6-12) in Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges action at Ontario, Ore.
Brenden Herzer had three hits in the second game for the Sasquatch.
• The 14th-ranked Lewis-Clark State Warriors (34-13, 23-8) romped to a 12-1, 15-3 doubleheader sweep over College of Idaho Coyotes to clinch the NAIA West North Division title in Caldwell, Idaho.
The Warriors slipped past University of British Columbia (27-14, 23-9), which had been in first place all season.
The Warriors used the bats of Alfonso Casillas and Bryan Abrey to notch the sweep. Casillas was 7 of 10 on the day with two home runs, four RBIs and four runs scored. Abrey went 6 for 8 with four doubles, five RBIs and five runs scored.
Softball
Niki Williams knocked in four runs – three coming on a sixth-inning home run, her 12th of the season – and the 11th-ranked Washington Huskies (32-9, 7-7) rolled to a 7-1 victory over the 13th-ranked Stanford Cardinal (34-11, 7-7) in Pac-10 play in Stanford, Calif.
Kaitlin Inglesby won her 20th game of the season, against six losses, by allowing four hits and an unearned run while striking out six.
• Desirae Tinoco went 5 for 5 with three doubles, six RBIs and four runs scored to propel the North Idaho Cardinals (33-24, 26-20) to a 21-5 victory over the Colorado Northwestern Golden Eagles (3-46, 3-40) and a split of their Scenic West Athletic Conference doubleheader in Rangely, Colo.
The Golden Eagles stunned the Cardinals 9-8 in the opener, scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh inning after NIC scored four times in the top of the inning to tie the score. It was only CNCC’s third win of the season.
In the second game, NIC leadoff hitter Shelby Gonzales walked in all five of her plate appearances and scored each time. Blake Meredith went 4 for 5 with four RBIs and Ashley Moon went 3 for 5 with four RBIs for the Cardinals.
• The visiting Walla Walla Warriors (26-9, 16-4) notched a 11-2, 5-4 doubleheader sweep over the Community Colleges of Spokane Sasquatch (17-17, 12-8) in NWAACC action at SFCC.
Moria Beeler had three hits and scored twice and Jennica Ebel had a pair of hits and two RBIs to pace CCS.
Rowing
The 12th-ranked Washington State Cougars women accomplished a first in their nine years under head coach Jane LaRiviere – a sweep over the Oregon State Beavers.
The Cougars won all seven races on Dexter Lake in Lowell, Ore.
The dual was the final tune-up before the Pac-10 championships.
• The Gonzaga varsity women’s rowing Novice 8+won its heat race at the WIRA Championships. The Novice 8+ races in the Grand Final today.
• The Gonzaga Bulldogs men won three of their four heat races during the opening day of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships at Rancho Cordova, Calif.
The Bulldogs will send their varsity-8, junior varsity-8 and novice-8 boats to today’s Grand Finals.
Also, the Bulldogs women had one boat – novice-8 – advance to the Grand Finals.
Track and field
Eastern Washington Eagles senior Erica Chaney and Idaho Vandals sophomore Jeff Aronson were double winners at the Duane Hartman Invitational meet at Spokane Falls Community College.
Chaney won the women’s shot put with a toss of 51 feet, 7 inches – 5 feet farther than the runner-up. She also finished first in the discus with a throw of 153-2 – more than 7 feet clear of the field.
Aronson won the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 11.20 seconds, .02 in front of runner-up Kurt Williams of Eastern. Aronson also won the 200 with a time of 22.69.
Men’s golf
University High School graduate and Washington State golfer Hank Frame shot an even-par 210 over three rounds and stands in seventh place at the Pacific-10 Conference Championship at the Stanford (Calif.) Golf Course.
Moscow High grad Chris Williams carded a 2-over 212 for the Washington Huskies and is tied for ninth.
Southern California lead the team race with an 11-over 1,061 total. Stanford is runner-up, three strokes off the pace. Washington (1,089) stands seventh, while WSU (1,090) is tied for eighth with Arizona.
Oregon State’s Alex Moore and USC’s Martin Trainer are tied for first place with 5-under 205s.
Men’s tennis
The New Mexico State Aggies defeated the Idaho Vandals 4-2 at the Western Athletic Conference semifinals in Boise.
Idaho’s wins came in doubles play from Alex Joitoiu and Lachlan Reed (No. 2) and Abid Akbar and Andrew Dobbs (No. 3).