Pac-12 conference play has barely begun, but there is already a makeshift order in the works.
National rankings are according to the USA Today/NFCA poll.
1. No. 1 California (33-1, 6-0 Pac-12)
California has been the best team in the country thus far, with its only loss coming to No. 16 Hawaii.
The Golden Bears dominated then-No. 9 Stanford with a plus-18 run differential through three games to start off their Pac-12 season. Then they held off No. 4 Washington to be the only team to have a perfect conference record so far.
Senior Valerie Arioto has been nothing short of spectacular with a .434 batting average, 15 home runs and an absurdly high 47 walks.
Not only has Arioto been dominant from the plate, she is also 15-0 on the season with a 1.03 ERA. Junior pitcher Jolene Henderson (18-1, 1.03 ERA) is also having a tremendous season striking out 155 batters in 122 innings pitched.
2. No. 7 ASU (32-4, 4-1 Pac-12)
The Sun Devils dominate when they are on the mound. The only question is the consistency of the offense. Every game, ASU finds ways to get runners on base, but oftentimes, the only knock is that the team doesn’t always bring them home.
Still, after sweeping No. 17 UA and splitting games with No. 18 Oregon, ASU is in second place.
As mentioned before, the reason for this is the pitching. Senior Hillary Bach (15-0, 1.13 ERA) is having her best year of her career and sophomore Dallas Escobedo (12-3, 2.44 ERA) is pitching lights out, even in her loss against Oregon. In that game, she allowed just one earned run and had nine strikeouts.
3. No. 4 Washington (32-4, 3-3 Pac-12)
Three losses to No. 1 California kept the Huskies from breaking the top two.
The Huskies do have potential and did take the Golden Bears to the brink losing by two runs or less in all three games. However, it was evident that the inexperience of the pitching staff could lead to some problems down the road. The Golden Bears scored six of the team’s 13 runs in the fifth inning or later.
The jury may still be out on this team, but contests against UA and Oregon will provide a bit of a measuring stick in the next two weeks.
4. No. 13 UCLA (25-7, 2-1 Pac-12)
The Bruins have had the hot hand in the conference lately. The team’s 12-game winning streak came to an end with a 7–5 loss when sophomore pitcher Jessica Hall (12-4, 2.00 ERA) floundered late against Oregon State on Sunday.
The offense rebounded after a poor showing in the Cathedral City Classic in which the team lost all five of its games to ranked opponents. Now the team leads the conference with a .376 batting average, a .621 slugging percentage and a .456 on-base percentage.
UCLA could jump into second place with a strong showing this weekend when it takes on ASU.
5. No. 17 UA (23-9, 2-4 Pac-12)
A heartbreaking series against their rivals had to be tough to swallow for the Wildcats. The team gave up the lead in all three games, including a six-run advantage on the final day.
UA rebounded nicely against an underwhelming Stanford team, taking two out of three games to win the series.
Amongst the pitching woes that have lingered around the team all season, both junior Kenzie Fowler (9-3, 2.87 ERA) and sophomore Shelby Babcock (12-6, 2.22 ERA) had strong showings to wrap up the series on Saturday and Sunday.
6. No. 18 Oregon (23-7, 2-3 Pac-12)
Despite taking a game from ASU, Oregon has yet to win a series this season.
What the team lacks is a clear No. 2 starter behind junior ace Jessica Moore (16-5, 1.63 ERA). Freshman Karissa Hovinga (7-2, 2.58 ERA) has tried to step into that role, but was hammered for seven runs in the first two innings against ASU.
What the team also needs is some fielding. Oregon has committed 50 errors so far this season, 11 more than any other Pac-12 team.
7. No. 25 Oregon State (26-10, 3-3 Pac-12)
There is no reason the Beavers should be tied for fourth alongside Washington, in the Pac-12 standings, other than the team knows how to win. It also works pitchers to death.
Oregon State walks the second most behind ASU in the conference, but also strikes out the most — meaning if you’re a pitcher, you have better be prepared to throw at least three pitches for almost every batter. The Beavers’ hitters have also been hit 32 times, tied for the most in the conference.
Combine this with the worst ERA and batting average in the conference and you get a team that beat Oregon at home and took a game from UCLA on the road.
8. No. 14 Stanford (27-8, 1-5 Pac-12)
After starting off the season as the No. 9 team in the country, Stanford has been a disappointment.
After their 19-game winning streak was ended by California, the Cardinal have lost four of their last six games.
The long ball has been the team’s most significant problem. Stanford pitcher junior Teeghan Gherhart (22-4, 1.98 ERA) has allowed 22 home runs, which is more than any other team in the conference and a career high for her as well.
Stanford also shares the same problem as Oregon of not having a second pitcher. Freshman Nyree White (5-4, 3.38 ERA) has struggled, picking up bad losses against UC Davis and Nevada.
9. Utah (23-8, 0-3 Pac-12)
The stats can be tossed out the window when comparing Utah to the rest of the Pac-12, as the team hasn’t really played any tough competition.
In their three games against Washington, the Utes proved that they can hang tough, but they didn’t impress, dropping all three by less than five runs apiece.
The team has had a couple of embarrassing losses to Stony Brook, Florida Gulf Coast, Portland State and UC Santa Barbara, and coming up next is top-ranked California.
On a lighter note, senior pitcher Generra Nielson (17-6, 1.35 ERA) leads the conference in strikeouts with 203, almost 50 more than anyone else.
Reach the reporter at jjmckelv@asu.edu
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