Cougars earn first win

Jason Monda’s two-run single in the top of the 11th inning gave Washington State a 9-7 nonconference win over top-ranked Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, Calif.

The Cougars loaded the bases with one out in the 11th and, following a fielder’s choice for the second out, Monda drove the ball through the left side for the winning hit.

WSU freshman Ian Hamilton earned the win after pitching a perfect 11th.

The Cougars scored three runs in the sixth to take a 7-3 lead. Collin Slaybaugh had a two-run single and Nick Tanielu later added an RBI single.

The Titans (1-1) tied it in the eighth. In the ninth, WSU loaded the bases with one out, but an inning-ending double play forced extra innings.

The Cougars (1-1) opened the season Friday with a 12-0 loss to Cal State Fullerton. The three-game series concludes this afternoon.

• Gonzaga fell to Nebraska and Pacific at the Husker Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

In the opener, the Bulldogs rallied in the ninth, but a game-ending double play gave Nebraska a 7-4 win.

Mitchell Gunsolus had two hits for Gonzaga, including an RBI-single in the ninth.

GU then fell 9-5 to Pacific. Caleb Wood led the Bulldogs offensively with two hits, including a double, but GU left 11 runners on base.

The Bulldogs will be seeking their first win when they play Nebraska again today.

• Columbia Basin College baseball coach Chris Staton was fired Friday for violating the school’s code of conduct for coaches.

The school would not say what specifically Staton did. A complaint was made to the athletic department Thursday, and Staton lost his job Friday.

“We had an allegation of a violation of our coach’s code of conduct come to our attention,” CBC athletic director Scott Rogers said. “We take those allegations very seriously. We were able to confirm that, yes, it happened. It was in fact an egregious violation of our code of conduct.”

Staton was set to start his second year as coach.

Track and field

Washington State senior Ruby Roberts broke the school record in the women’s 3,000-meter elite race Saturday at the Husky Classic in Seattle.

Roberts finished in 9 minutes, 15.79 seconds and finished third out of 38 runners. The previous WSU record was held by Jennifer Bravard, who had a 3,000-meter time of 9:15.89 in 1993.

Todd Wakefield was seventh in the men’s mile, finishing in 4:00.90. It’s the closest a WSU runner has come to breaking the 4-minute mark since Bernard Lagat did it in 1999.

Jesse Jorgensen finished second in the men’s 800 with a time of 1:50.23 – a personal best.

Four Gonzaga runners finished in the top 12 in the first heat of the men’s mile. GU’s Ian Goldizen took fifth, finishing in 4:13.87 – the fourth fastest time in school history.

At the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Aluquerque, N.M., WSU’s Charlotte Muschamp posted the third best triple jump in school history.

She reached 41 feet, 5 1/4 inches and finished ninth at the meet.

Kristine Felix was 10th in the pole vault after clearing 13-1 3/4.

Swimming

The Whitworth women won five of seven events, including both relays, and lead Pacific by 18 1/2 points after the second day of the Northwest Conference championships at the King County Wyerhaeuser Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.

The Pirates’ 200-yard medley relay team (Jackie Beal, Jerusha Dressel, Samantha Smith and Alisa Stang) set a new conference record at 1:45.77.

The Whitworth men won two of seven events and extended its lead to 125 poinds over second-place Puget Sound.

The meet ends today.