Alabama team denies Idaho Falls third straight Legion World Series title

SHELBY, N.C. — Troy (Ala.) scored three runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to rally past the Idaho Falls Bandits 6-5 in the championship game of the American Legion World Series on Tuesday at Keeter Stadium.

Idaho Falls (42-11), which handed Coeur d’Alene its only two losses at the Idaho state tournament (the Lumbermen finished third), was trying for a third straight national title after winning in 2021 and 2019. No tournament was held in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bandits loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but struck out in consecutive at-bats to end the game.

Merit Jones, who has signed to play at Utah, struck out nine in 6 ⅓ innings for Idaho Falls.

WSU to open Pac-12 men's basketball slate vs. UCLA and USC

The Pac-12 Conference has released the weekly matchups and site designations for the league's 2021-22 men's basketball season.

The announcement reflects the games being played and the home/away designations each week of the Pac-12 regular season. Specific dates and times for each game within a week will be announced at a later date alongside of the conference's television partners.

The Cougars open Pac-12 play over New Year’s weekend, hosting UCLA and USC, Dec. 29-Jan. 2.

WSU will play Utah and Colorado once each and everyone else in the conference twice each.

The Pac-12 Tournament will take place March 8-11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

WSU MEN'S BASKETBALL

Pac-12 Conference Pairings

Dec. 29-Jan. 2 — vs. UCLA and USC

Jan. 4-8 — at Arizona and Arizona State

Jan. 11-15 — vs. Stanford and California

Jan. 19-22 — at Utah and Colorado

Jan. 25-29 — vs. Arizona and Arizona State

Feb. 1-5 — at USC and UCLA

Feb. 8-12 — vs. Washington

Feb. 15-19 — vs. Oregon State and Oregon

Feb. 22-25 — at Stanford and California

March 1-4 — at Washington

WSU women's soccer team earns highest preseason ranking in program history

The Washington State women’s soccer program enters the 2022 season ranked No. 19 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll, the organization announced.

The honor marks the highest preseason ranking for the Cougars in program history, matching the 2020 team, selected by TopDrawerSoccer in the re-scheduled spring 2021 preseason. Earlier this month, WSU was selected No. 20 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, and picked third in the Pac-12 coaches poll.

The Cougs were one of four Pac-12 Conference schools picked in the national poll. UCLA, USC, and Stanford were picked No. 6, No. 18, and No. 20, respectively.

WSU begins the 2022 fall season Thursday at Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wolverines were also named to the preseason poll at No. 17.

The game will stream live on B1G+ for a subscription fee. Washington State will welcome Portland to Lower Soccer Field in Pullman on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m., for the first home match of the fall campaign.

2022 TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll

1, Florida State. 2, Virginia. 3, Tennessee. 4, BYU. 5, Duke. 6, UCLA. 7, Penn State. 8, North Carolina. 9, Arkansas. 10, Rutgers.

11, Santa Clara. 12, TCU. 13, Georgetown. 14, South Carolina. 15, Clemson. 16, Notre Dame. 17, Michigan. 18, USC. 19, Washington State. 20, Stanford.

21, Xavier. 22, Pepperdine. 23, NC State. 24, Brown. 25, Memphis.