Area roundup: Washington softball beats Oregon at Women’s College World Series

Kirstyn Thomas went 2 for 3 with a two-run home run in the seventh inning and No. 6 Washington (48-12) beat No. 3 Oregon (52-6) 3-1 in the opening game of Bracket 2 at the NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City on Thursday.

The Huskies face No. 10 Oklahoma, which beat No. 15 Baylor 6-3 in the other bracket opener, on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the second round of the double-elimination bracket. Oregon faces Baylor on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in an elimination game.

Washington only managed four hits but made the most of them. Thomas led off the third with a single, went to second on a sacrifice and scored on Sis Bates’ RBI triple. The in the seventh, Trysten Melhart walked with one out before Thomas’ clout to left center.

Oregon put two on with no outs in the bottom half of the seventh. Ali Aguilar made a spectacular diving stop on a grounder up the middle by Danica Mercado and flipped it out of her glove to Bates for a forceout at second for the first out of the inning. Taran Alvelo got the next two batters to ground out to end the game.

Alvelo gave up five hits and three walks with three strikeouts in a complete game.

Baseball

Ryan Rosa scored on a throwing error by reliever Henry McAree in the bottom of the ninth and Faulkner (Ala.) beat Lewis-Clark State 6-5 in the double-elimination NAIA World Series at Ed Cheff Stadium in Lewiston.

The teams will face each other against on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the championship game.

Lewis-Clark (39-14) led 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth. Faulkner’s Olivier Basabe reached on a walk and Wes Robinson ran for him. With one out, Robinson moved up on a wild pitch, then scored on Rosa’s RBI double to the left-center gap. Michael Darr’s infield single moved Rosa to third.

L.D. Coney then hit a comebacker that McAree fielded cleanly, then lobbed over catcher Cooper Goldby’s head, allowing Rosa to scamper home with the winning run.

Lewis-Clark out up four in the fifth inning, including Gunnar Buhner’s two-run double.

Morgan named All-American: Gonzaga junior RHP Eli Morgan earned a national postseason honor on Thursday as he picked up Second Team All-American accolades from Collegiate Baseball.

Morgan went 10-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 2017, striking out 138 batters in 100 2/3 innings. His strikeout total is the third-highest in the nation and second-highest ever by a Zag pitcher in a single season.

Morgan also led the West Coast Conference and was eighth in the country with 12.34 strikeouts per nine innings, and he’s one of only four Division I pitchers with multiple outings of 15 strikeouts this year. Morgan finished among the WCC’s top five in complete games, ERA, hits allowed per nine, strikeouts, strikeouts per nine, strikeout-to-walk ratio, wins, and WHIP.

Collegiate Baseball tabbed Morgan as a national player of the week three times this season. The ace of the Gonzaga staff tossed back-to-back complete game shutouts March 10 and 17 versus Cal State Fullerton and Pacific, and on April 21, Morgan held Portland to just three hits while fanning 15 in eight scoreless frames.

Morgan is Gonzaga’s first All-American since 2013 when Marco Gonzales earned second- or third-team honors from three different outlets.

Matheny named all Pac-12: Washington State junior third baseman Shane Matheny was named to the All-Pac-12 Conference Team, headlining three Washington State players who earned all-conference recognition.

Matheny was selected to the All-Pac-12 team while sophomore shortstop Andres Alvarez and sophomore left fielder Justin Harrer each received honorable mention. It is the first career all-conference honor for all three players.

Matheny led the Cougars with a .309 batting average, three triples and 34 RBI and tied for seventh in the Pac-12 with 16 doubles in the regular season. He also hit three homers, recorded a .408 on-base percentage, stole five bases, tied for the team-lead with 17 multiple-hit games and tied for second with 59 hits.