NW Briefs: Bixler, Huskies golfers on move

TUCSON, Ariz. — Washington's Zach Bixler shot a 4-under 68 in the second round of the NCAA West Regional Friday, placing the sophomore fourth at 7-under 137 headed into today's final round. The 26th-ranked Huskies shot 7-under 281 in Round 2 to climb up the leaderboard into ninth place at 7-under 569.

"We're excited," said Washington coach Matt Thurmond. "This is what you play for. We have one day to compete, and it's tight enough that we can't play mediocre and make it [to the NCAA championship]. We need to play well to advance. As a competitor that's exciting."

Arizona's second-round 15-under 273 catapulted the host Wildcats into the team lead at 24-under 552. The top 10 teams from the West Regional will advance to the NCAA championships, May 31-June 3 in Sunriver, Ore.

Bixler's round included five birdies and just one bogey. Utah's Dustin Pimm leads all individuals at 10-under 134.

James Lepp had the Huskies' second-best round of the day, shooting 3-under 69 to stand in 22nd place overall at 4-under 140. Erik Olson and Alex Prugh shot identical rounds of even-par 72 to tie for 75th at 2-over 146. Sterling Clark shot 2-over 74 and sits in 115th place at 8-over 152.

Lincecum sets

win record

STOCKTON, Calif. — Tim Lincecum broke the Huskies' season wins record with his 12th victory as the Washington baseball team beat Pacific, 5-3, in the first game of a three-game nonconference series at Klein Family Field.

Lincecum (12-3) broke the record of 11 wins, set first by Jake Kringen in 1997 and tied by Shawn Kohn in 2002. Lincecum worked seven innings, allowing one run on four hits and five walks while striking out 11. Elliott Cribby threw the final two innings to pick up his 10th save for the Huskies (34-23).

In the second, Washington shortstop Bradley Boyer doubled off the fence in left-center field, then scored on a single from second baseman Ryan Anderson to tie the score at 1-1.

Washington took the lead with two runs in the fourth. Anderson drove in Cory Rickard from third with a groundout, and Michael Burgher chopped a single to left to drive in Boyer, giving the Huskies a 3-1 advantage.

In the fifth, Matt Hague led off with a double and eventually scored from third on a pinch-hit, infield single from Brett Kaluza. In the ninth, Nick Burnham hit his first homer of the year, a two-out solo shot that increased the lead to 5-1.

Other golf

• Western Washington's Sean Packer shot an 8-over-par 78 to finish tied for 35th at the NCAA Division II men's championship in Daniels, W.Va.

Packer had a four-day, 72-hole total of 19-over 299. He began Friday with a double bogey and bogey, then had five pars before posting two more bogeys.

Taking medalist honors was Jamie Amoretti of St. Mary's (Texas), who finished at even-par 280.

• Joe Prince, 28, a graduate of Liberty High School of Issaquah who played golf for Green River Community College, won the national NAIA individual championship Friday.

Prince, who plays for Point Loma Nazarene of California, shot a 3-over 75 at the Prairie Highlands Golf Course in Olathe, Kan., to finish 4-under for the 72-hole tournament.

Prince finished at 284 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics event to edge Todd Halpen of the University of Victoria, B.C., who finished at 285.

Oklahoma City University won the team title.

Other baseball

Mitch Canham drove in five runs, Dallas Buck picked up his 10th win of the season, and No. 6 Oregon State used a 10-run fifth inning to crush Washington State 16-1 in Pullman. The Cougars (34-19, 9-10 Pac-10) managed just three hits off Buck.

Rowing

Julia Gamache and Lindsay Mann-King of Western Washington have been named to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division II All-America team.

Notes

• Mountain climber Karen Holland, 32, of Seattle and two sherpas reached the summit of Mount Everest at 3 a.m. Friday, according to mounteverest.net. Holland, a nine-year climbing guide, has 94 ascents of Mount Rainier to her credit.

• Randy Hanson will return as coach of the Puget Sound women's soccer team this fall. Hanson left the program in December 2004 after 10 seasons at the helm. He compiled a record of 136-48-17 with five Northwest Conference titles, including a trip to the NCAA Division III national-championship game in 2004.

• Montana State University-Billings will join the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, effective July 1, 2007.

Compiled from sports-information reports and other sources.