Sports in brief
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, April 3, 2018
- Ducks and Beavers
BASEBALL
Beavs win on 11th-inning error — Adley Rutschman’s bases-loaded fly ball to center field in the bottom of the 11th inning was misplayed for an error, allowing Cadyn Grenier to score from third base and giving Oregon State a 3-2 nonconference win over Nevada on Monday night at Goss Stadium in Corvallis. Grenier’s two-out single started the winning rally, then Steven Kwan drew a walk and Andy Armstrong was hit by a pitch to fill the bases for Rutschman, whose fly to center went for the game’s only error. Kwan’s RBI single scored Grenier in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 2-2 tie. The No. 3 Beavers (22-4) and Wolf Pack (15-10) conclude their two-game series Tuesday night.
Homers power Oregon past San Francisco — Back-to-back solo home runs by Jonny DeLuca and Ray Soderman in the second inning got Oregon started on its way to a 5-2 nonconference road victory over the University of San Francisco on Monday. The Ducks (16-11 overall) had lost two in a row and four of their previous five games, including a 5-1 home loss to USF a week earlier. DeLuca and Soderman each drove in two runs and were among five Oregon players with two hits. The Ducks won despite leaving 14 runners on base. Oregon returns to Pac-12 play Friday with the opener of a three-game series against Washington State at PK Park in Eugene.
AUTO RACING
Stewart reaches settlement — The family of a race car driver fatally injured when struck by Tony Stewart’s sprint car has apparently reached a settlement in its wrongful death lawsuit against the former NASCAR star. According to a notice posted in federal court records on Monday, Judge David Hurd set an April 12 settlement hearing in Utica, New York. Kevin Ward Jr. was killed in August 2014 at Canandaigua Motorsports Park after he exited his car following a crashed into the wall lining the dirt track in upstate New York following a bump from Stewart’s vehicle. Ward was walking in the direction of Stewart’s car when he was struck and killed by the veteran driver.
GOLF
Swede wins ANA Inspiration on 8th playoff hole — Pernilla Lindberg made a 30-foot birdie putt on the eighth extra hole to win the ANA Inspiration for her first professional victory Monday in Rancho Mirage, California. Lindberg finished off Inbee Park on the par-4 10th, the fourth playoff hole Monday at Mission Hills after they played until it was too dark to see — and then played some more — Sunday night.
BASKETBALL
Gonzaga to stay in WCC — Gonzaga is staying in the West Coast Conference after being courted by the Mountain West. Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth told The (Spokane, Washington) Spokesman-Review that he and university president Thayne McCulloh met Monday to make the final decision on conference affiliation. Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson in February acknowledged interest in adding Gonzaga, which does not play football but has one of the nation’s best men’s basketball programs. Gonzaga has dominated the West Coast Conference in basketball for years and has regularly made the NCAA Tournament, playing in the final of the tournament in 2017. The Mountain West could have offered better competition and possibly greater revenue.
— From staff and wire reports