Area roundup: Huskies split doubleheader with Ducks, move into third in Pac-12
The Huskies (16-15, 7-4 Pac-12) took sole possession of third in the conference standings following a 4-0 shutout of the Ducks (19-14, 6-8) to split a doubleheader in Seattle.
Freshman Kaiser Weiss led the Huskies at the plate with three hits, including a double. Right-handed pitcher Jordan Jones (4-3) earned the win, striking out seven and allowing five hits in in 5 1/3 innings.
The Huskies pushed the first game into extra innings with a late rally that tied the score at 3 before the Ducks finally sealed the 6-4 win in the 13th with a pair of runs.
Washington’s Levi Jordan tied the score with a two-run home run in the eighth, and then tied the score again in the 11th inning with a sacrifice fly. The Ducks sealed the win in the 13th behind Braden Stutzman’s single that sent home two runs.
Gonzaga 7, Pacific 1: The Bulldogs leaned on pitcher Mac Lardner for most of the day before rallying at the plate in the final innings to beat Pacific in Stockton, California.
The Zags followed Lardner’s solid performance with a run in the eighth inning and four more in the ninth.
Lardner (4-1) earned the win after seven innings on the mound, giving up one run on four hits and fanning four.
Four Zags had two hits apiece, including second baseman Carson Breshears, who knocked in two runs.
Whitworth 9. Pacific (Oregon) 2: JT Phelan went 3 for 5, including a pair of doubles, and sent in three runs to lift the Pirates (16-19, 11-13 Northwest Conference) past the Boxers (15-22, 9-15) in Forest Grove, Oregon.
T.J. Orchard (2-3) earned the win after seven innings on the mound. Orchard allowed just one run on four hits and tallied four strikeouts.
Softball
Washington 3-9, California 1-1: Julia DePonte’s two-run home run in the fifth inning broke up a scoreless game and lifted the top-ranked Huskies (41-2, 12-2) to a 3-1 win in the first of a two-game sweep of the Golden Bears (26-13, 1-10) in Seattle.
The Huskies ended the game in six innings with a 9-1 win over the Bears in the second game.
Washington’s first win of the day marked the team’s 40th win of the season, the program’s fourth 40-win season in the last five years. Taran Alvelo led the Huskies in the circle with eight strikeouts to give her 200 for a second consecutive season. She allowed just two hits and one run.
Men’s tennis
Idaho 5, Idaho State 2: The Vandals (11-7, 9-1 Big Sky) closed in on clinching the top seed in the upcoming conference championship on Sunday with a win over Idaho State (6-13, 3-8) in Lewiston. The Vandals hold a slim lead over Montana (7-2) and Northern Arizona (7-2).
Idaho’s Guilherme Scarpelli and Felipe Fonseca defeated Mark Kovaks and Carlos Longhi Neto 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1.
Idaho State evened the score at the start of singles when Idaho’s Longhi Neto was forced to retire from the match. Fonseca took back the lead for good when he defeated Adam Hornby 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 3. It was his 13th win of the season.
Whitworth 7, Pacific Lutheran 2: The Pirates (4-14, 4-4 NWC) closed the season with a convincing win over the Lutes (6-11, 2-6) in Spokane.
Whitworth took a 2-1 lead after doubles, but PLU’s Niko Convento tied the match in singles after defeating Jake Bethards 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1.
Senior Ian Fisher topped Justin DeMattos 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 to get Whitworth back in the lead. Kincaid Norris clinched the team win at No. 4 with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Chan Thourk.
Women’s tennis
Gonzaga 4, Pacific 0: The Bulldogs (15-6, 6-2) were nearly perfect in a sweep over the Tigers (6-10, 2-5) in Stockton, California. Gonzaga took two of the three doubles matches and dropped just two sets in singles.
Gonzaga’s No. 1 duo Sophie Whittle and Graciela Rosas started the day with a 6-1. Alex Bourguignon and Haruna Tsuruta clinched the point with a 7-6(4) tiebreaker at No. 2.
Eastern Washington 5, Montana 2: The Eagles (8-11, 5-4 Big Sky) defeated the Grizzlies in Missoula, Montana.
Janaya Smith took the first win in singles in a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 1. Zoey Nelson followed with a 6-2, 6-4 win and Rylee Braeden took her match to three sets, winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
No. 1 duo Smith and Braeden lost their match in doubles 6-7 (6-8), and Stephanie Broussard and Rachel Swindel dropped their match 1-6 to give the Grizzlies the doubles point.
Golf
ASU Thunderbird Invitational: Washington State finished 16 over for the day to take 15th in the two-day, 54-hole event at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Arizona. The Cougars were 33 over and finished with a three-round score of 885.
Junior Grant Cole made his first top-five finish. He closed out the tournament with a 70 in the third round. His three-round score of 213 tied for a career-best fourth place.
Willamette Spring Thaw: Tristan Hartfiel tied for fifth place and the Whitworth Pirates finished third at the Pronghorn Golf Resort in Bend, Oregon. Hartfiel shot a 74 on Saturday and a 78 on Sunday to lead the Pirates.
Linfield rallied from a fourth-place finish on Saturday to take the title. The Wildcats shot 620, 11 strokes ahead of Whitworth.
NWAC: Freshman Jesse Henderson shot 72 in the first round of a Northwest Athletic Conference match at Avondale Golf Course in Hayden, and the North Idaho men were six over to finish first, five strokes ahead of CC Spokane.
Sophomores Mikal Jerman and Madi Brown led the NIC women with an 82 and 83, respectively. The women were 30 over and finished the second round in second place, seven strokes behind Columbia Basin.
Women’s rowing
Lake Natoma Invitational: Gonzaga’s varsity 8 had the best finish of the day of the Bulldogs, taking the win in the last of three races in Gold River, California, on Sunday.
The varsity 8 finished at 6:56.6, seven seconds faster than Alabama. Sacramento State was just a second behind the Crimson Tide and San Diego came in 15 seconds later.