NW Briefs | Washington baseball wins opener of three-game series with UCLA

Jorden Merry held UCLA to two runs on four hits over eight innings, tying his career high with nine strikeouts, as the Washington baseball team opened a three-game series with a 5-2 win over the Bruins Friday night at Husky Ballpark.

Merry, a right-hander from Pasco, improved to 6-0. Washington (25-14 overall, 5-5 Pac-10) got a two-run homer from Troy Scott and a solo shot from Kyle Conley. UCLA dropped to 20-17, 4-6.

Ocean rower may set record

Seattle-based athlete Erden Eruç, who has been at sea 288 days, is on track to set the world record May 10 for number of continuous days at sea by an ocean rower.

Volunteers are organizing an effort to deliver 400 pounds of supplies to Eruç, who is in a 23-foot rowboat about 700 miles southeast of Palau.

More baseball

Matt Way tossed a six-hitter as Washington State defeated San Jose State 8-3 at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman. Way (2-3) struck out eight and provided the Cougars (21-18) their first complete game of the season.

• Matt Fields allowed three hits and struck out eight in seven innings as Gonzaga earned an 11-3 victory over Saint Mary's College in Moraga, Calif. The Zags improve to 24-17, 6-6 West Coast Conference.

Rowing

A rowing rivalry that dates back 105 years will be renewed this morning when top-ranked Washington races No. 6 California in the varsity men's race at Redwood Shores, Calif.

In the women's varsity event, Cal is ranked No. 1 and the Huskies women have dropped to No. 15 after back-to-back home losses to Washington State and Oregon State.

The UW varsity men won last year's dual race against Cal in Seattle and lead the series 67-29-1. Cal beat Huskies women for the fourth consecutive time but the Huskies still lead the series 22-9.

Softball

Rosey Neill drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift No. 7 Stanford past No. 22 Washington 2-1.

• Seattle University split a doubleheader with Montana State Billings in Billings. Seattle U. (29-11, 11-5 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) won the first game 13-5; Montana State Billings (23-20, 12-8) won the second 10-2. Both contests ended on the eight-run rule.

Women's basketball

Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, an assistant coach on the Washington women team for one season, is to become associate head coach at Indiana. A spokeswoman for Indiana on Friday said the university had "nothing to say" about the move. A Washington spokesman on Friday confirmed that Abrahamson-Henderson "is expected to be hired by Indiana, but the details have not been finalized." Neither Abrahamson-Henderson nor UW coach Tia Jackson could be reached for comment Friday.

Tennis

Junior David Chu reached the singles semifinals and freshman pair Tobi Obenaus and Martin Kildahl did the same in doubles in the invitational draws at the Pac-10 Championships in Ojai, Calif.

The Washington State women sent Aleksandra Stefanova and Aleksandra Cekic to the semifinals in the doubles invitational bracket, and the Washington women were ousted.

• The Eastern Washington women snapped a 29-match postseason losing streak with a 4-0 defeat of Montana in the Big Sky Conference quarterfinals in Gold River, Calif.

Track and field

Western Washington's Keith Lemay won the 800 meters (1:52.29) and earned his second national provisional qualifying time at the WWU Twilight Track and Field meet at Civic Stadium in Bellingham.

Seattle U.'s men won the 400-meter relay (42.75 seconds), and Rachael Johnson won the 800 (2:18.81).

Compiled from sports-information and staff reports.