Just two weeks into conference, the teams are getting a taste of the competition in Pac-12 play.
Things are looking a bit different than the preseason power rankings, but there is still plenty of time for these programs to establish themselves as a team. Here are the power rankings:
Oregon leads the Pac-12 in team batting average (.376) and home runs (54) on the season. The Ducks swept and took both series against Washington and Stanford. For the week of March 21-28, two players off the Ducks roster were recognized by Pac-12 weekly honors. Junior shortstop Nikki Udria was named player of the week, and senior pitcher Cheridan Hawkins was named pitcher of the week. The Ducks look to continue their 18-game winning streak as they face UCLA for week three.
The Wildcats went 2-1 against Arizona State and 2-1 against Utah, all were close scoring games. Junior outfielder Katiyana Mauga helped Arizona overcome the Utes with a walk-off home run. Mauga has knocked in 12 home runs, the most from her team and the second most in the entire Pac-12. This weekend poses some difficulty as the Wildcats face the Washington Huskies.
UCLA found a way to avoid the sweep against Washington with a big three-run homer from sophomore catcher Madeline Jelenicki that put the Bruins ahead of the Huskies. Delaney Spaulding, who is on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 watch list, leads the Bruins in RBIs with 32. This weekend will be a test for the Bruins as they face the undefeated Ducks of Oregon.
The Huskies faced two top teams for the first weeks of Pac-12 play. They were swept by Oregon and took two wins against UCLA. Freshman pitcher Taran Alvelo was named freshman of the week by Pac-12 after earning both wins against UCLA. The Huskies will face the Arizona Wildcats this upcoming weekend.
The Utes steered clear of the sweep against Arizona with an extra inning battle that lead to a 7-3 win. Utah swept Oregon State, scoring a total of 30 runs. The team has the weekend off, but will face California in week 4 of conference play.
ASU started Pac-12 play against its rival Arizona. The team avoided the sweep and won the final game of the series due to a two-run homer from senior center fielder Jennifer Soria. The Sun Devils come off a series sweep against Texas Tech, and look to continue the momentum into the series against the California Bears.
California started off conference play against UCLA, losing one game and tying the other before the series finale was rained out. The following weekend, the Bears took the series against Oregon State, coming out on top two of the games. Sophomore infielder Taurie Pogue was the main contributor in the series win against the Beavers. The Golden Bears will face off against Arizona State in week 3 of Pac-12 play.
The Beavers got off to a slow start for Pac-12 play. OSU was swept by Utah, and won one game in its series against the Cal Bears. The team will look to get back on track against the struggling Stanford.
Stanford faced tough competition for the first round of conference play. The Cardinal was swept by Oregon, giving up 21 runs to the Ducks, and scoring only two. Freshman pitcher Carolyn Lee dazzled in her first Pac-12 appearance, holding the Ducks to only two runs, but offense was the struggle for that series. Stanford looks to snap their six-game losing streak as they face Oregon State in the upcoming weekend.
Reach the reporter at lmbrunet@asu.edu or follow @Leah_brunette on Twitter.
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