Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and Gunnar Henderson had four hits and two RBIs as the United States rolled to a 9-1 victory over Britain on Saturday night at the World Baseball Classic.

Team USA improved to 2-0 in Pool B at Houston, while Britain dropped to 0-2.

Nate Eaton homered on Tarik Skubal’s first pitch to give Britain a quick lead it held until the fifth inning. But his teammates couldn’t muster anything else at the plate.

U.S. hitters had managed just one single when Ernie Clement reached on an error by third baseman Ivan Johnson to start the fifth. Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled before Clement scored on a wild pitch by Andre Scrubb to tie it at 1.

Schwarber followed with a 427-foot drive that landed near the back of the second deck in right field to put the United States on top 3-1.

There were two outs in the inning when Henderson’s two-run single made it 5-1.

Aaron Judge, who homered in Friday night’s win over Brazil, knocked out a panel in the metal scoreboard with a 109.6 mph RBI single in a three-run sixth that pushed it to 8-1.

Skubal allowed two hits with five strikeouts in three innings. It’s scheduled to be the only start of the tournament for the two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner, who will return to spring training with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Britain plays Italy on Sunday. The Americans are off until reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes pitches Monday night against Mexico.

Ohtani homers again and Suzuki hits 2 as Japan beats South Korea 8-6

Shohei Ohtani homered for the second consecutive day, Seiya Suzuki went deep twice and defending champion Japan beat South Korea 8-6 in Tokyo to improve to 2-0 in Pool C.

Suzuki drove in four runs and Masataka Yoshida homered and had three RBIs for the Samurai Warriors, who fell behind 3-0 in the first inning.

A day after hitting a grand slam in a 13-0 win over Taiwan, Ohtani hit a tying home run on a hanging curve from Young Pyo Ko in the third.

Suzuki hit a two-run homer in the second. Two batters after Ohtani’s drive, Suzuki chased Ko by homering for a 4-3 lead. Yoshida homered on reliever Byeong Hyeon Jo’s second pitch.

Hyeseong Kim’s two-run homer against Hiromi Ito tied the score in the fourth for South Korea (1-1).

Suzuki put Japan ahead for good at 6-5 when he drew a bases-loaded walk from Young Kyu Kim in a three-run seventh that included Yoshida’s two-run single.

Ju Won Kim trimmed South Korea’s deficit with an RBI single off Yuki Matsumoto in the eighth before Hyeseong Kim stranded the bases loaded when he struck out against Yuki Matsumoto.

Winning pitcher Atsuki Taneichi struck out the side in the seventh, and Taisei Ota got three straight outs on seven pitches for the save.

Japan and Australia are 2-0 in Group C and meet Sunday as the favorites to advance to the quarterfinals.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was at the game, a day after Timothée Chalamet and pop singer Bad Bunny attended.

Albies hits game-winning 3-run homer in 9th as Netherlands stuns Nicaragua 4-3

Ozzie Albies hit a game-winning three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the Netherlands over Nicaragua.

The Netherlands began its two-out rally on Ceddanne Rafaela’s single against reliever Angel Obando. Xander Bogaerts doubled, advancing Rafaela to third before Albies hit Obando’s first pitch over the wall in right.

The Netherlands improved to 1-1 in Group D. Nicaragua dropped to 0-2.

Jeter Downs hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth to put Nicaragua ahead 3-1. He drove a sinker from Netherlands reliever Lars Huijer over the wall in left-center. Huijer threw two innings of relief for the win.

The Netherlands stranded 14 runners and were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position before Albies’ homer.

Rafaela, Bogaerts and Druw Jones all had two hits for the Netherlands.

Nicaragua starter Erasmo Ramírez plunked Albies with the bases loaded in the third, giving the Netherlands a 1-0 lead. Ramirez allowed one run and five hits over five innings while Netherlands starter Jaitoine Kelly threw two scoreless innings.

Puerto Rico rallies to beat Panama 4-3 on Hernaiz’s 10th-inning homer

Darell Hernaiz homered off Severino González to cap a two-run 10th inning as Puerto Rico twice rallied late at San Juan and improved to 2-0 in Group A.

Willi Castro tied the score at 2 on a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk against Alberto Baldonado with two outs in the ninth.

José Caballero hit a go-ahead single off winner Jose Espada in the top of the 10th, then was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Carlos Cortes for the final out of the inning when he tried to score on Leonardo Bernal’s single.

Puerto Rico tied the score at 3 in the bottom half when Cortes grounded into a run-scoring double play. Hernaiz drove a fastball to left, dropping Panama to 0-2.

Panama had gone ahead 2-0 in the fifth on RBI doubles by Christian Bethancourt and Luis Castillo.

Nolan Arenado trimmed the lead with a bases-loaded, sixth-inning sacrifice fly against Javy Guerra. After playing for the U.S. in 2017 and 2023, Arenado switched this time to Puerto Rico — where his mother is from.

Arraez powers Venezuela past Israel 11-3 with two homers and two doubles

Luis Arraez homered twice, doubled twice and drove in five runs as Venezuela beat Israel 11-3 in Miami.

Arraez became the first player with a pair of multihomer games in his WBC career.

Eugenio Suárez also went deep and Ezequiel Tovar had three hits for Venezuela, which improved to 2-0 in Pool D. It was Israel’s first game of the tournament.

Venezuela starter Enmanuel De Jesus struck out eight in five innings of one-run ball.

Suárez’s two-run homer chased Israel starter Ben Simon and capped a four-run first. Arraez hit an RBI double and scored on Salvador Perez’s single.

De Jesus retired his first 14 batters until Garrett Stubbs tripled with two outs in the fifth. Matt Mervis followed with an RBI infield single to put Israel on the board.

Venezuela regained its four-run lead in the fifth when Arraez hit a solo homer off reliever Jordan Geber.

Israel narrowed the deficit again in the sixth on RJ Schreck’s solo homer against reliever Ricardo Sánchez before Venezuela broke it open with five runs in the bottom half. Maikel García hit a two-run single and Arraez followed with a three-run homer that made it 10-2.

Arraez, a three-time batting champion, has five hits and seven RBIs over the first two games.

Harrison Bader hit a solo homer for Israel in the ninth.

Fairchild’s grand slam powers Taiwan over Czechs 14-0

Stuart Fairchild, whose mother is from Taiwan, hit a second-inning grand slam off Jan Novak for a quick six-run lead.

Taiwan set a WBC record with seven steals and improved to 1-2 in a game cut to seven innings by a mercy rule. The slam was the third of the tournament, one shy of the WBC record.

The Czechs dropped to 0-3 in their second WBC and are 1-6 in two tournaments, with a win over China in 2023.

Taiwan went ahead in the first on a throwing error by catcher Martin Cervenka on a double steal, and an RBI single by Yu Chang, who had three hits and four RBIs.

Winning pitcher Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang struck out four in 2 2/3 innings. Novak took the loss, allowing six runs, five hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings.

Naylor brothers’ defense, Cassie’s 2-run homer lead Canada over Colombia 8-2

A run-saving defensive play by brothers Josh and Bo Naylor boosted Canada in the first inning at San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Owen Cassie hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the second off emergency starter Austin Bergner after Julio Teheran was scratched.

A 35-year-old right-hander who last pitched in the major leagues in 2024, Teheran felt right shoulder impingement while warming up.

Canada won its opener while Colombia dropped to 0-2 in Group A.

Michael Arroyo led off the game with a single against Michael Soroka, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Reynaldo Rodriguez grounded to first baseman Josh Naylor, who threw to brother Bo at the plate for the tag.

That was one of four Colombia outs on the bases. Rodriguez and Jesus Marriaga were caught stealing by Bo Naylor, and Daniel Vellojin was thrown out trying to reach second on a dropped flyball in the ninth inning.

Arroyo cut Colombia’s deficit with an RBI single in the third off Soroka, who allowed four hits over three innings for the win. Abraham Toro restored a two-run lead with a bases-loaded walk in the bottom half from Emerson Martinez.

Josh Naylor had a run-scoring single in the seventh that drove in Denzel Clarke, a cousin, after Marriaga dropped Clarke’s fly to right for an error.

Harold Ramírez had an RBI double in the eighth. With two on and two outs, Gio Urshela swung and missed at three straight sliders from Eric Cerantola.

Toro had an RBI triple in a four-run bottom half and scored on Bo Naylor’s single.

Phillippe Aumont, who last pitched in the major leagues in 2015, struck out Tito Polo for the final out.

Nori homers twice, Canzone adds 4 RBIs as Italy blanks Brazil 8-0

Dante Nori hit two home runs and Dominic Canzone homered with four RBIs to help Italy to an 8-0 win over Brazil in Pool B play at Houston.

The game was scoreless until the sixth inning when Zach Dezenzo hit an RBI single with one out to put Italy on top. Jac Caglianone followed with a two-out double that scored another run, but Dezenzo was tagged out at home on the play to end the inning.

Nori’s first home run came with one out in the seventh to make it 3-0. There was one on with two outs when Canzone’s homer to right-center extended the lead to 6-0.

There was one out in the eighth when Nori went deep again on a solo shot to right-center that made it 7-0. Canzone had an RBI double with two outs to leave Italy up 8-0.

Brazil managed just four singles to fall to 0-5 all-time in the tournament after losing to Japan, Cuba and China in 2013 in its only other WBC appearance. The team lost to the United States 15-5 in its WBC opener on Friday night.

Brazil starter Enzo Sawayama allowed two hits in four scoreless innings and Italy starter Sam Aldegheri yielded one hit and struck out eight in 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

Italy plays Britain on Sunday, and Brazil faces Mexico on Sunday night.

IRVINE – For the second time in eight days, University played for a title. And for the second time in eight days, the Trojans played the same team and added a plaque to the school’s trophy case.

University defeated Granite Hills, 2-0, to win the CIF Southern California Regional Division IV championship on Saturday.

The Trojans also earned a chance to play in the first CIF State Championships.

It would be hard to bet against the Trojans right now. They have won nine in a row and have allowed only three goals in that span – including a 4-2 victory on Tuesday against Animo Leadership.

Granite Hills of Apple Valley, the top-seeded team in the CIF Southern Section playoffs a week ago but seeded No. 2 in the regional, finished 18-6-5.

University, seeded No. 2 last week but No. 1 in the regional, improved to 18-5-1.

The Trojans peaked at the right time and are living large behind a terrific defense and an efficient-enough offense.

“We knew we had to jump on them early – if we could get an early goal we could dominate play and then memories of last week would start to develop in their mind,” University coach Martin Wallwork said. “One thing we couldn’t do is let them hang around and build confidence and find a second wind and find energy, and unfortunately we did that. We should have been up 2- or 3- or 4-0 in the first half. We didn’t give them a sniff but just missed some chances.

“We told our players we didn’t come this far just to get this far.”

Now they are going far – literally. They will play in Sacramento at Natomas High on Friday, March 13, against Del Mar of San Jose, the third-seeded team that upset No. 1 seed Liberty Ranch in the Northern California Regional final.

The winner between University and Del Mar will become the state’s first Division IV champion.

Even though the score against Granite Hills was closer than last week’s 3-0 victory, the victory Saturday was more one-sided.

Unlike a week ago, there was no feeling out process for the Trojans, and it showed as they dominated all but the first 10 minutes of the second half.

The defense limited the number of serious chances presented to Granite Hills, and the offense did a good job of applying pressure. They scored two goals, but might have scored six.

Kasra Ghoddousi scored in the 16th minute, blasting a shot under the crossbar from 35 yards. Impressively, he did it into the wind.

“Once it left my foot, I knew it was going in,” said Ghoddousi, who will play soccer at UC Davis. “I feel honored to be part of this team.”

Ghoddousi’s blast was one of five first-half shots on goal for the Trojans that kept Granite Hills goalie Phoenix Ragen busy. By contrast, University goalie Lucca Clouthier had six saves, but only one that was concerning.

However, one Cougars shot hit the post in the final minute of the second half.

“It would have been a completely different game if it had been 1-1 going into halftime,” said Rayan Heyati, who scored on a header at 60 minutes after Ghoddousi’s 55-yard assist on a free kick.

“When ([the Cougars) get their momentum they can really play, especially (Acxel Jimenez). But when we have the lead, our defense is really good and we can keep persisting and persisting and they’re not going to score.”

In the second half, University had the wind to its back. The Trojans survived the push by Granite Hills in the first 10 minutes, and Heyati’s header basically turned out the lights.

“Any game we’ve been up 1-0, we’ve never lost,” Clouthier said.

With a 2-0 lead and only 20 minutes to play, the Trojans were as good as gold.

The regular season was completed Saturday and the fields are now set for the 2026 Big West men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which will be played Wednesday-Saturday in Henderson, Nevada.

A few of the seedings were already locked before the regular-season finales were played, but the rest of the brackets were sorted out as teams made their final moves up or down the standings.

The top two seeds in each bracket receive double-byes into Friday’s semifinals. The third- and fourth-seeded teams receive byes into Thursday’s quarterfinals with the fifth- through eighth-seeded teams forced to play first-round games on Wednesday.

UC Irvine (22-10, 15-5) and Hawaii (22-8, 14-6) are the top two seeds on the men’s side, and UCI (26-5, 17-3) and UC San Diego (22-8, 17-3) occupy the top two seeds for the women’s tournament.

The championship games are scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. (women) and 7 p.m. (men).

—– 2026 BIG WEST MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT —–

All games at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev., all times are PT

First Round – Wednesday, March 11

6 p.m. – No. 5 seed UC San Diego (22-10) vs. No. 8 seed Cal Poly (14-18)

8:30 p.m. – No. 6 seed UC Davis (18-13) vs. No. 7 seed UC Santa Barbara (18-13)

Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12

6 p.m. – No. 4 seed Cal State Northridge (19-13) vs. UCSD-Cal Poly winner

8:30 p.m. – No. 3 seed Cal State Fullerton (17-15) vs. UC Davis-UCSB winner

Semifinals – Friday, March 13

6 p.m. – No. 1 seed UC Irvine (22-10) vs. CSUN-TBD winner, ESPNU

8:30 p.m. – No. 2 seed Hawaii (22-8) vs. Fullerton-TBD winner, ESPN2

Final – Saturday, March 14

7 p.m. – Championship game, ESPN2

—– 2026 BIG WEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT —–

All games at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev., all times are PT

First Round – Wednesday, March 11

Noon – No. 5 seed Cal State Fullerton (17-13) vs. No. 8 seed Cal State Northridge (10-19)

2:30 p.m. – No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara (20-9) vs. No. 7 seed UC Riverside (10-20)

Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12

Noon – No. 4 seed Hawaii (20-10) vs. Fullerton-CSUN winner

2:30 p.m. – No. 3 seed UC Davis (22-9) vs. UCSB-UCR winner

Semifinals – Friday, March 13

Noon – No. 1 seed UC Irvine (26-5) vs. Hawaii-TBD winner

2:30 p.m. – No. 2 seed UC San Diego (22-8) vs. UC Davis-TBD winner

Final – Saturday, March 14

3 p.m. – Championship game, ESPN+

SANTA ANA — Centennial made the most of its size advantage to defeat Mater Dei’s girls basketball team 60-48 in the semifinals of the CIF Southern California Division I Regional playoffs Saturday at Mater Dei High.

Mater Dei (26-8) was the top seed in the Division I bracket. The Monarchs beat Windward and La Salle in the first two rounds of the regional playoffs.

“The resiliency they’ve shown all year long has been remarkable,” Mater Dei coach Jody Wynn said of her players. “We started with seven seniors and we finished with three, so the kids had to grow up throughout the year and expand their roles. We battled and lost to a better team tonight.”

Centennial (22-5) went 0-2 during pool play in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs and then had to beat St. Joseph of Lakewood in a play-in to qualify for the state playoffs.

The Huskies will play at Rancho Christian on Tuesday night for the regional title and a spot in the state championships in Sacramento next weekend.

Centennial’s size was a problem for Mater Dei throughout the game but particularly in the second half. Mater Dei had just one offensive rebound in the game and just four points in the paint.

“We worked on a zone that was going to take them out of the paint,” Centennial coach Matt Tumambing said. “We didn’t rotate particularly well in the first half, and our coaching staff made some adjustments. Limiting their opportunities was the goal.”

Mater Dei trailed by three points at the start of the fourth quarter but was held scoreless for a four-minute stretch while Centennial went on an 11-0 run.

“I think it was just their size,” Wynn said. “We worried about their point guard and it opened the floor for their guard to get slippery, get to the rim and we gave up some and-ones.”

Talithakoum Poialii-Hunkin led Centennial with 20 points after being held scoreless in the Huskies’ previous game against Moreno Valley. Sydney Douglas had 16 points and Armanyie Reed had 11 assists.

“They (Mater Dei) run a really good matchup zone, so the ball movement was super important,” Tumambing said. “Armanyie did a phenomenal job setting the table for everybody.”

Keleesa Howard had 10 points and Cydnee Bryant had 13 rebounds.

Freshman Legend Tyler led Mater Dei with 18 points and made four 3-pointers. Stella Hoss added 10 points for the Monarchs, and Harmony Golightly had eight points with six assists before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

The Monarchs shot 47 percent from 3-point range in the first half but made just two of 13 3-point attempts in the second half.

Centennial won a state championship in 2021.

Tumambing was disappointed Centennial didn’t get to the CIF-SS Open Division finals, but is happy with how his team is playing now.

“We were disappointed that we weren’t in the Open (final). We thought we played Sierra Canyon very well,” Tumambing said. “We feel like we can play with anybody and we are excited to see where we take this.”

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It’s not easy to win games late in the basketball season but El Dorado’s girls team showed again Saturday that it has the grit to complete the job.

The Golden Hawks survived a 17-0 run by Canyon to open the fourth quarter and used a block in the final seconds by Delaney Shiring to secure a 44-39 victory in the Division III semifinals of the CIF Southern California Regional.

Shiring, a senior forward, blocked a drive attempt by Canyon with about six seconds left in regulation and grabbed the rebound to protect a 42-39 lead. The Pomona-Pitzer commit then sank two free throws to put the final touches on a victory that advances the No. 2 seeded Golden Hawks (22-14) into Tuesday’s final against visiting No. 5 Leuzinger.

The winner on Tuesday advances to the CIF State championships in Sacramento next weekend at Golden 1 Center.

“We were able to dig deep and draw out what we needed to get through,” said Shiring, who scored a game-high 23 points. “I knew we had it in us.”

“It was a very tough fourth quarter,” she added. “At the end, when it got close, we tapped into what we’ve been working on all season … getting defensive stops when we need it the most.

El Dorado set the stage for its postseason run by competing in the challenging Crestview League and winning its final two games of the regular season to become eligible for an at-large berth in CIF-SS Division 4. The Golden Hawks captured the division for their first section crown since 1976.

“Our league, it prepared us for this,” fourth-year El Dorado coach Matthew Raya said. “I don’t know if it’s destiny or what, but they have so much grit that they can battle through things and somehow we can come out with a win.”

El Dorado, which split with Canyon in the Crestview League, led the Comanches 40-22 going into the fourth quarter.

Canyon found a spark after coach Sara Brown and an assistant coach received technical fouls with 2:30 left in the third quarter. They scored the first 17 points of the fourth period to trim El Dorado’s lead to 40-39 on a 3-pointer by Vyonna Nguyen with 25 seconds left.

Canyon fouled twice to stop the clock, which sent El Dorado’s Riley Morikawa to the foul line with 13.9 seconds remaining. The senior sank both free throws for the Golden Hawks’ first points of the fourth and a 42-39 lead.

Canyon outscored El Dorado 17-4 in the fourth quarter and didn’t allow a field goal.

“This is a very resilient team,” said Brown, whose squad placed third in the Crestview League and lost starter Anna B’far to injury. “They fought. We’ve had a lot of injuries this year.”

“Everybody counted us out,” the coach added. “State is hard.”

El Dorado senior point guard Kennedy Wood scored 14 points, including 3-pointers early in the first and third quarters.

“This playoffs, she has really stepped it up,” Raya said of Wood.

Canyon post Kyara Vargas had 15 points and nine rebounds. Point guard Zulymar Velazquez scored all of her eight points in a strong first half.

Nguyen, a junior, came off the bench to sink two 3-pointers in the fourth.

Shiring went 10 for 15 from the foul line, including 3 for 4 after the double technical foul.

In other regional semifinals Saturday:

In Division IV:

Godinez 41, Tulare Union 39: Valeria Arcos scored 12 points and Crystal Cruz added nine to lead the host No. 2 Grizzlies, who play host to No. 5 Palisades in the final Tuesday.

Palisades defeated Marina 61-49 at Ocean View High in the other semifinal.

In Division V:

Laguna Hills 37, Rosamond 31: Senior Cameron McDermott scored 17 points with 10 rebounds and her sophomore sister Keira added 15 points to lead the visiting No. 4 Hawks, who play host to No. 6 Schurr on Tuesday in the final.

More results to come.