As we head into week seven of the season, only two teams from the Pac-12 remain in the top 25. There have been some surprising conference game outcomes so far and this weekend’s match-ups will only further decipher who deserves to be at the top of the Pac.
The Golden Bears entered week seven with a series sweep of then-No. 3 Oregon State under their belt. Cal showed up on the mound against powerful OSU bats and managed to prove it's a strong contender in the conference. The Bears moved up five spots in the top 25 this week and will look to prove the weekend wasn't a fluke against UCLA.
OSU held a top five spot for the first six weeks of the season but dropped to number six this week after being swept by Cal. Despite the off-weekend, this team is solid and will look to bounce back in non-conference play against San Diego State on Monday and Tuesday, then will take on Washington this weekend to get back into Pac-12 play.
Washington has perhaps been the most surprising Pac-12 team so far this season. The Huskies started out conference play with series wins against Arizona and Oregon and look to do the same against Oregon State this weekend.
Arizona slips into the top five after a series win against previously ranked UCLA last weekend. The Wildcats lost their series against the Huskies the weekend before last, but after their walk-off win to take the series from UCLA on Saturday they are showing they will be a strong contender in this conference.
USC earns the number five spot after its series victory against conference powerhouse Cal on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The Trojans toughest non-conference matchup coming into this week has most definitely been No. 10 TCU. USC lost that series, but bounced back the following weekend against Cal. As they come into this weekend to take on Stanford we’ll see if they can break over .500.
UCLA put up a fight against Arizona but couldn’t pull out the series win. The Bruins boast an overall impressive record, but their struggle against the Wildcats pushes them down to six. Their upcoming series against Cal will test the legitimacy of their strength in the conference.
Stanford hasn’t had the toughest schedule thus far, but the wins at Kansas and series win at Washington State earns them the seven spot. The true test of Stanford’s strength will come this weekend against USC.
Utah has been the second-most surprising team of the Pac-12. Its series win against ASU last weekend, despite being on the bad side of a no-hitter, was impressive. The Utes also proved they have what it takes to compete after a series win at Oregon the week before. We’ll see if they can keep it up this weekend against Arizona.
Oregon started out the season in the top 10, but have since fallen way behind, dropping out of the top 25 and falling towards the bottom of the Pac. After being swept at No. 11 Mississippi State the second weekend in March, the Ducks lost two straight Pac-12 series against both Utah and Washington. They’ll head to the Midwest this weekend to see if they can redeem themselves against Notre Dame and Michigan State.
Arizona State finds itself at the bottom of the power rankings after being swept by Oregon State to open Pac-12 play and a series loss to Utah last weekend. The Sun Devils have played around with their bullpen and lineup a lot this season and just when it seemed like they had things figured out, they entered conference play and began adjusting again. They’ll be looking to stay in the game against Washington State this weekend.
Washington State is tied with ASU for the worst Pac-12 record so far this season. This weekend’s matchup between the two will set the low point of the conference bar.
Related links:
Offensive struggles continue to plague ASU baseball
ASU baseball buried by 10 Utah runs in final two innings of rubber match
Reach the reporter at haley.stesiak@asu.edu or follow @haley_stesiak on Twitter.
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