Seth Etherton had 10 strikeouts in eight innings and Seth Davidson tripled in what proved to be the deciding run as Southern Cal beat two-time defending champion LSU 5-4 Thursday in the College World Series in Omaha.
By avenging a 12-10 loss to LSU in the opening round, the fourth-seeded Trojans (47-17) forced an elimination game Friday between the teams. The winner faces Arizona State in Saturday’s final.
Basketball: Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the United States over Slovakia 89-62 and into the title match of the women’s world championships in Berlin. Brazil, which beat the United States 110-107 for the 1994 title, advanced to Saturday’s final by defeating Lithuania 72-70.
– Cheryl Miller, coach of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, broke the big toe on her right foot when she kicked the scorer’s table during an exhibition game.
Track and field: Jeff Hartwig set an American pole vault record, soaring 19 feet, 8 1/4 inches at a meet in St. Denis, France. He bettered the record of 19-7 1/4 set in May 1996 by Lawrence Johnson and became the eighth pole vaulter and the first American to better 6 meters, which vaulters compare to the 4-minute mile on the track.
Pro football: New York Giants running back LeShon Johnson, diagnosed as having non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, said he will begin six months of chemotherapy starting next week.
Media: Shirley Povich, a sports writer and award-winning columnist with The Washington Post since 1924, died of a heart attack at age 92.
