Bulldogs complete sweep of Cougs

Marco Gonzales stroked a two-run single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Gonzaga Bulldogs rallied for a 4-3 victory over the visiting Washington State Cougars in nonconference action on Tuesday.

Gonzales’ hit capped a three-run burst for Gonzaga, which swept the season series against the Cougars 3-0. Mitchell Gunsolus drove in the first run in the pivotal fifth inning to knot the score at 2-2.

U-Hi graduate Billy Moon (1-1) picked up his first win of the season for Gonzaga. The senior allowed two runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Softball

The Whitworth Pirates (22-18, 16-12) wrapped up the No. 3 seed for the Northwest Conference tournament by sweeping the visiting Willamette Bearcats (14-24, 10-18).

Julia Johnson went 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs and M’Liss Powles drove in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Pirates posted an 8-7 win in the opener.

In the nightcap, Heather Hesselgesser had two hits and drove in four runs to power the Whits to an 8-6 victory.

Whitworth will play No. 2 seed Pacific Lutheran at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at tournament host and top-seeded Linfield.

Golf

The Gonzaga Bulldogs men stand in sixth place after the second round of the West Coast Conference Championship in Bremerton, Wash.

Gonzaga shot a 1-over-par 289 at Gold Mountain-Olympic Golf Course leaving it with a 592 total.

Sophomore James Fahy led the way for Gonzaga with 2-under 70. His two-round total of 146 lands him in a tie for 13th place.

Saint Mary’s leads second-place San Francisco by two strokes heading into today’s final round.

• The Gonzaga Bulldogs women sit in second place after the first two rounds of the West Coast Conference Championship in Bremerton, Wash.

The Bulldogs will have a tough time catching 11-time defending champion Pepperdine. Gonzaga trails the Waves by 17 strokes heading into today’s final round at Gold Mountain Golf Course. GU is 22 shots ahead of third-place BYU.

Gonzaga freshman Raychelle Santos is in third place after her 1-over-par 73 left her with a 144 total – four strokes behind two-time champion Grace Na of Pepperdine.

• The Idaho Vandals placed fifth at the Fresno State Classic in Fresno, Calif.

Leilanie Kim led the way for Idaho with an 11th-place showing and a 224 total. Rachel Choi and Kristin Strankman finished one stroke behind Kim and tied for 12th.

Long Beach State won the team title behind medalist Simone Hoey.

Track and field

Whitworth Pirates junior Peter Delap placed third in the men’s decathlon with 5,949 points at the Northwest Conference Multi-Event Championships in Parkland, Wash. Puget Sound’s Joe Cerne won the title with 6,321 points.

Whitworth sophomore Christina Dobbins finished fourth in the women’s heptathlon with 4,184 points. Beth Stam of George Fox won the event with 4,347 points.

Both Delap and Dobbins led after the first day’s events.

• Eastern Washington Eagles sophomore Jordan Arakawa was named the Big Sky Conference field athlete of the week after his performance at the UNLV Randall Cunningham Invitational in Las Vegas.

Arakawa won the hammer throw with a personal-best toss of 211 feet, 1 inch. Arakawa won the award for the second time this month.