Area roundup: Mitchell Gunsolus’ clutch hit propels Gonzaga in season opener

Mitchell Gunsolus’ RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh broke a 2-all tie and gave the Gonzaga baseball team a 3-2 opening-day victory over Utah Valley at the Cal State-Northridge Invitational Friday in Northridge, California.

Bulldogs’ starter Brandon Bailey pitched seven innings and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out a career-high eight. David Bigelow earned the save. He came on in the eighth and worked his way out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam.

Gunsolus finished with three hits and scored twice.

• Six Stephen F. Austin pitchers shut down Washington State’s batters and the Lumberjacks claimed a 4-1 season-opening win at the Stephen F. Austin tournament in Nacogdoches, Texas.

The Cougars managed just one run on five hits. WSU’s lone run came on Shane Matheny’s RBI double in the fifth. The Cougars play Texas-Arlington today.

Track and field

Gonzaga’s Maggie Jones and Colin O’Neil broke school records in the 5,000 meters at the Husky Classic in Seattle.

Jones finished in 16 minutes, 45.78 seconds. The previous record of 17:15.33 was set by Emily Thomas in 2013. Jones took 28th out of 94 runners.

O’Neil finished 10th and broke his own school record. He crossed in 14:23.56. His previous best was 14:28.21.

The meet continues today.

• Thane Pierson’s second-place finish in the men’s high jump led the Washington State men and women at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque.

Pierson cleared 7 feet, 0 1/4 inches, a personal best.

WSU’s Austin Sodorff took 10th in the pole vault (16-4 3/4) and Terrance Chambers was 13th in the 200 meters in a personal-best time of 21.61 seconds.

In the women’s 400-meters, Christiana Ekelem was fifth (56.02) and Liz Harper took eighth (56.41). Both were personal-best times.

Swimming

Wes Walton won the men’s 200-yard individual medley and the Whitworth men are in first place after the first day of the Northwest Conference championships in Corvallis, Oregon. Walton finished in 1 minute, 51.44 seconds.

The Whitworth women trail defending champion Pacific Lutheran 217-154. Competition continues today.

Wrestling

North Idaho took second place at the NJCAA West District Championships in Coeur d’Alene and had 10 individual qualifiers for the national meet. Michael Nguyen (125 pounds), Dajour Reece (165), Johnathen Dennis (197) and Taylor Kornoely (285) all won weight-class titles.

Junior hockey

Darien Blight and Riley Jepson scored third-period goals and the Sicamous Eagles (26-23-1-0-1) held on to defeat the Spokane Braves (25-22-0-0-4) 3-2 in a KIJHL game in Sicamous, British Columbia.

Men’s golf

Gonzaga opens its spring schedule Monday in La Quinta, California, at the Prestige at PGA West.

The Bulldogs will be led by Sean Walsh, a preseason All-West Coast Conference selection and WCC Freshman of the Year in 2013. GU will play in five tournaments before the West Coast Conference Championships April 13-15 in Somis, California.