Stanford

Christian Colon hit a pair of two-run homers as Cal State Fullerton eliminated Stanford with a 6-5 victory in the Fullerton Regional on Saturday night. Noe Ramirez struck out eight in earning his 11th victory for the Titans (42-16), who have won 24 of their last 27 games. Tyler Gaffney hit the second pitch of the game for a home run to put the Cardinal (31-25) ahead, 1-0. With the score tied, Colon hit his first two-run homer over the left-field fence to give the Titans a 3-1 lead in the third.

The USC women's water polo team fell short of a national championship Sunday, losing to Stanford, 6-4, in the title match at San Diego. The Trojans (23-6) tied the score four times but couldn't prevent a late push by the Cardinal (26-2) that secured the championship. USC had defeated rival UCLA in a semifinal Saturday to reach the championship match. Stanford goalie Kate Baldoni finished with 15 saves. The Trojans' goals came from Madeline Rosenthal, Colleen O'Donnell, Patricia Jancso and Monica Vavic.

Stanford 72, at Oregon 65: Landry Fields scored 21 points, Jeremy Green added 18 and the Cardinal (12-14, 6-8 Pacific 10 Conference) won on the road for the first this year with a victory against the Ducks. Jeremy Jacob scored 19 points and E.J. Singler 15 for the Ducks (12-13, 4-9), who dropped their fourth straight. at Oregon State 80, California 64: Roeland Schaftenaar tied a season high with 22 points to lead the Beavers (12-13, 6-7) to a victory over the Pac-10-leading Golden Bears (17-9, 9-5)

Third-seeded USC took a major step forward with a 12-10 victory over second-seeded UCLA in the NCAA women's water polo semifinals Saturday at San Diego. The victory marks the Trojans' first win over the Bruins in an NCAA tournament. In the final Sunday, USC (23-5) will take on top-seeded Stanford (25-2) at 5:15 p.m. at the Aztec Aquaplex. The Cardinal advanced Saturday with a 12-3 victory over fourth-seeded UC Irvine (25-7). USC's victory against UCLA (22-4) was led by four goals each from Monica Vavic and Patricia Jancso.

Toby Gerhart and Stanford did to the Oregon defense what the Ducks did a week ago to USC, opening up the Pacific 10 Conference race with a program-defining victory. Gerhart ran for a school-record 223 yards and three scores, Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and Stanford held on to beat No. 7 Oregon, 51-42, Saturday at Palo Alto to become bowl-eligible for the first time in eight years. "This was definitely my biggest win since I've been here at Stanford," Gerhart said, ranking it ahead of the victory over No. 2 USC two years ago. "I think it's definitely bigger than the USC win because it gets us to that bowl game.

USC tonight AT STANFORD When: 7. Where: Maples Pavilion, Palo Alto. On the air: Radio: 830, 1260. Records: USC 10-4 overall, 2-0 in the Pac-10; Stanford 6-7, 0-1. Record vs. Opponent: 118-117. Update: USC has won eight straight games, but this will be the first game since the university imposed a postseason ban for this season. -- Baxter Holmes

Tension mounts for the important Bay Area game featuring two three-win teams, a rookie quarterback, a quarterback named Kevin and one of the nation's leading rushers. Everyone, except for Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach, is all atwitter. USC at California? OK, that one also features two three-win teams, a rookie quarterback, a quarterback named Kevin and one of the nation's leading rushers. We were thinking UCLA at Stanford, which only days ago was unthinkable. It's funny sometimes what happens when you play out the schedule.

Onward … and upward? UCLA gets a crack at first-place California on Saturday, with the Bruins able to claim they are at least on the fringe of the Pac-12 Conference title race. The Bruins' 72-61 victory over Stanford at the Sports Arena on Thursday night earned them a spot in the upper half of the Pac-12. As for any higher aspirations, UCLA can address those Saturday, when the Bears, who at 9-3 share the conference lead with Washington, drop by. The Bruins tuned up for that with a sloppy performance in which they were the better team, grading on a curve.

When: 8. Where: Sports Arena. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket. Radio: 570. Records: UCLA 13-10, 6-5 in Pac-12; Stanford 16-7, 6-5. Update: UCLA lost at Stanford, 60-59, in a Pac-12 opener Dec. 29. Bruins guard Lazeric Jones has seen the game tape once. "That was enough," he said. Jones, who had 26 points in that game, had his shot blocked with three seconds left. "I knew where I messed up," Jones said. "We had a guy wide open and I should have passed.

Second-seeded UCLA put away Iona, 14-3, and No. 3-seeded USC dominated Princeton, 14-2, on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA women's water polo championship tournament at San Diego State. UC Irvine was an 8-6 winner over Loyola Marymount, and Pomona-Pitzer fell to Stanford, 17-5. Senior KK Clark scored four goals for the Bruins (22-3), who established a 5-0 lead and never looked back. Sarah Orozco, another senior, had a hat trick for UCLA, which moved into a semifinal match Saturday with USC (22-5)

It remains to be determined whether UC Irvine is the best men's volleyball team in the nation. The Anteaters can probably already lay claim to being the most resilient. Just as they did in their semifinal victory over top-ranked USC, Irvine spotted Stanford a two-set lead and then came back to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament championship Saturday night at the Galen Center. The Anteaters' 20-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-21, 15-12 victory advanced them to the Final Four for the third time in six years.

NEW YORK - Coby Fleener's first NFL route was a comeback pattern. The Stanford tight end will be reunited in Indianapolis with Andrew Luck, his college quarterback. "I just sent him a text message that had a lot of exclamation points in it," Fleener said Friday, minutes after the Colts made him the second pick of the NFL draft's second round - 33 selections and 23 hours after Indianapolis used the No. 1 overall pick on Luck. For Fleener, a first-rounder in most mock drafts, the disappointment of slipping into the second day was quickly washed away when his cellphone finally rang in the green room at Radio City Music Hall.

Two of the last three NCAA men's volleyball champions appear headed back to the Final Four. UC Irvine and Stanford, both absent last season, meet Saturday night at the Galen Center in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament championship match. The winner earns an automatic berth in next week's Final Four, also at the Galen Center. The MPSF tournament runner-up usually gets an at-large berth. Second-ranked Irvine (23-5), the 2009 NCAA champion, is led by senior opposite Carson Clark and junior outside hitter Kevin Tillie, who powered the Anteaters' five-set semifinal victory over top-ranked USC. The Anteaters won despite committing 26 service errors.

No. 24 Pittsburgh Steelers: OG David DeCastro, Stanford - - Although DeCastro is from Bellevue, Wash., his parents are South African and both his father and grandfather played rugby for the University of Cape Town. DeCastro is so intense, he refuses to high-five teammates after big plays. Said NFL Network's Mike Mayock: "I think with DeCastro, when you get him, you're going to plug him in Day One, and he's going to be your starting guard. " Comment: Rebuilding Pittsburgh's line has been a project for the Steelers for several years.

It didn't hit Stanford star Nnemkadi Ogwumike until the WNBA draft Monday when she stood in a studio under the glare of bright lights, surrounded by makeup artists and hairstylists. "I thought, 'This is really about to happen, I'm really about to be a professional basketball player,' " she said. A short while later, Ogwumike was selected by the Sparks with the top overall pick in the draft. That's when she was struck by something else. The 6-foot-2 forward had watched Sparks superstar Candace Parker on television and had often tried to emulate her moves.

Stanford volleyball player Samantha Wopat died Sunday. She was 19. Wopat was admitted to Stanford Hospital's intensive care unit on March 17 after having an undisclosed medical emergency at her residence. She died eight days later, surrounded by family and friends. The cause of her death has not been released. "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Sam Wopat," Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby said. "On behalf of our administration, coaches and students I extend my condolences to Sam's siblings, parents, relatives and friends.