Here is your Pac-12 Weekend Recap for February 22nd-24th.
Arizona State at Tennessee
The No. 22 ranked Sun Devils traveled to Knoxville to take on the Volunteers over the weekend. In game one, RHP Trevor Williams secured his first victory of the season by throwing seven innings and striking out eight as Arizona State won 4-0. Trevor Allen hit a three-run homerun for the Devils. In game two, after Arizona State scored two early runs, RHP Drake Owenby for Tennessee was able to stifle Arizona State. He pitched four innings out of the pen and did not allow a run as Tennessee was able to secure an 11-2 victory thanks to three Volunteers knocking in multiple RBI. In game three Sunday afternoon, LHP Ryan Kellogg improved to 2-0 after bouncing back from allowing an early run. His final line was 5 IP, 1ER, and 6K’s, as Arizona State was able to secure a series victory 5-1. Outfielders Trevor Allen and James McDonald each hit a two-run homerun to account for four of the five RBI.
Arizona State wins the series 2-1.
San Jose State at Arizona
The Spartans traveled to Tucson to take on the national champions in what appeared to be lopsided affair on paper. Instead, the No. 10 ranked Wildcats won game one Friday night thanks to Brandon Dixon tripling in three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. In game two, RHP James Farris was able to improve to 2-0 on the season after pitching 7.1 innings and allowing 4 earned runs. Farris recorded seven strikeouts as the Wildcats cruised to 15-4 victory. Arizona recorded 14 hits as a team, which is a season high so far. Game three was yet another come-from-behind victory for the Wildcats as they were held hitless for six innings. In the seventh and eighth innings, Arizona exploded for nine runs aided by clutch base hits and walks by San Jose State. The final score was 9-4 Arizona.
Arizona sweeps San Jose State
UCLA at Baylor
UCLA was able to take game one of the series 4-3, in part, because of a strong start from RHP Adam Plutko, who went six innings and only allowed one run. Shane Zeile recorded two hits and an RBI to lead the Bruins. Game two saw Baylor upset the No. 6 ranked Bruins, 5-0, behind five innings from Dillon Williams, who improved to 1-0. Third baseman Cal Towey hit a two-run homerun in the bottom of the fifth inning to give Baylor enough runs for the victory. On Sunday afternoon, UCLA was able to secure a series victory by defeating Baylor 5-4. Junior Brian Carroll was able to score the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning on a passed ball by Baylor catcher Jimmy Landes.
UCLA wins the series 2-1.
USC v. Cal State Northridge
Game one of the three game set was played at Dedeaux Field, at USC, in which the Trojans lost 9-4 in 11 innings. Cal State Northridge scored five runs in the top of the 11th, thanks to timely hits mixed together with walks from the USC pitching staff. Game two was played Saturday afternoon from Northridge California. The Trojans were able to secure a 10th inning victory on a RBI single from Kevin Swick. Game three of the series returned to Dedeaux Field, where highly touted freshman LHP Kyle Twomey went the distance for a 4-2 series victory. Twomey recorded his first collegiate win allowing two runs and striking out five in nine innings.
USC wins the series 2-1.
Fresno State at Stanford
No. 14 Stanford kicked off their 2013 home campaign by playing host to the Fresno State Bulldogs. In game one, senior RHP Mark Appel was able to recover from a rough last outing at Rice to clinch a 3-1 Stanford victory. Appel threw a three-hit complete game while striking out 11 batters. Stanford was able to get two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to break the tie. On Saturday, pitch-hitter Brett Michael Doran hit a three-run homerun in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Stanford the walk-off victory. On Sunday, Danny Diekroeger hit a two-run homerun in the bottom of the 8th inning to lift Stanford to a7-4 sweep. OF Austin Wilson sat out the series after reports of being bothered by a strain below his elbow.
Stanford sweeps Fresno State
Loyola Marymount at Oregon
Oregon started their 2013 home campaign on Friday night against Loyola Marymount. The Lions were able to strike at RHP Jake Reed, behind a 3-4 night from RF Tanner Donnels. Loyola Marymount won game one 7-2, behind six innings of no run ball from RHP Colin Welmon. He struck out nine. In game 2, the No.5 ranked Ducks bounced back by defeating the Lions 6-1. LHP Tommy Thorpe pitched seven innings and did not allow a run. He struck out six, which was a career high. Ryon Healy had a clutch single that drove in two Ducks. Oregon only recorded two hits, but was aided by walks and errors that contributed to the victory. In game three, Oregon’s Taylor Baumgartner recorded his first career hit as a Duck by doubling in three runs to give Oregon a commanding lead. Freshman LHP Cole Irvin improved to 2-0 after throwing eight innings and only allowing one run. He struck out three. The Ducks won 6-1.
Oregon wins the series 2-1.
Oregon State at San Diego State
No.8 ranked Oregon State traveled to San Diego State for a four-game series that began Thursday night. In game one, the Beavers scored five runs in the seventh inning and rode the arm of RHP Dan Child for the 8-1 victory. Child pitched five innings while striking out six. Shortstop Tyler Smith had two RBI. In game two, LHP Matt Boyd went 8 1/3 innings and did not allow a run. Boyd struck out nine, securing a 2-0 Beaver victory. Saturday afternoon saw Oregon State once again shut out San Diego State, 5-0, behind another strong performance from RHP Andrew Moore. Moore went 8 1/3 innings and only allowed two hits. RF Dylan Davis had three hits and knocked in one. Sunday resulted in a four-game sweep for the Beavers as they beat San Diego State 7-1 behind three hits from Dylan Davis. Three Beavers knocked in two runs apiece.
Oregon State sweeps San Diego State
Washington at Lamar
The Washington Huskies traveled to Vincent-Beck Stadium to participate in the YMBL Cardinal Classic, which was scheduled to be three-team tournament. Creighton was unable to make the trip due to a snow storm, so the Huskies and Cardinal played four. On Friday, Washington was able to win 8-2 behind 7 2/3 innings of two run ball from RHP Austin Voth. Voth struck out 14 batters. Trever Mitsui went 3-5 with three RBI. In game one of the doubleheader on Saturday, Lamar was able to knock off the Huskies, 3-1, behind a complete game effort from RHP Collin Chapman. Chapman struck out four and only allowed one run. In game two, Lamar was able to secure a four-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning for the victory 6-3. Sunday saw Lamar get a third consecutive complete game effort from David Carver, who only allowed one run in the 6-1 victory over the Huskies.
Lamar wins the series 3-1.
California at UC Irvine
The California Golden Bears lost game one Friday night by a score of 5-3. The score was tied 3-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh. In the seventh, UCI catcher Ronnie Schaeffer and DH Jerry McClanahan both had RBI singles to lift UC Irvine. The Bears Jacob Wark had two triples, which tied a school record with 11 other players. The feat was last accomplished in 2008 by OF Brett Jackson. On Saturday, the Bears were able to upset the No. 27 ranked Anteaters in game one of a double header, 8-6. The Bears scored four times in the ninth, lead by Jacob Wark and shortstop Chris Paul, who both had two-run doubles. The second game of the double header saw the Bears lose 4-3 in 10 innings. Wark gave Cal a 3-2 lead with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning, but UC Irvine’s shortstop Chris Rabago drew a bases loaded walk to win the game.
In the series finale on Sunday, UC Irvine defeated the Bears 9-1. The Anteaters scored seven runs in the bottom of the first, tagging LHP Michael Theofanopoulos with the loss. He is now 0-1 on the season.
UC Irvine wins the series 3-1.
Utah at UC Davis
The Utah Utes won game one 11-8 Friday night over UC Davis. Utah scored four runs in the top of the ninth. Tyler Relf singled up the middle to knock in two of the four RBI. The other two runs were unearned. On Saturday, Utah was able to get another victory 7-3. The score was tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth when TJ Bennett hit a two-run homerun over the left field fence to give Utah a 4-2 lead. Sunday resulted in a third straight victory for the Utes as they scored four runs in the fifth inning. Braden Anderson and Konnor Armijo each went 3-4 on the day as Utah defeated UC Davis 7-6. Game four of the series will played Monday at 12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Washington State
Eastern Michigan traveled to Pullman to take on the Cougars in a four game series over the weekend. On Friday night, the game was postponed due to snow. The Cougars were able to win game one of the double header 8-4. The Cougars were able to score five runs in the bottom of the third inning to pull away from Eastern Michigan. In game two of the Saturday double header, sophomore P.J. Jones doubled home Nick Tanielu to lift the Cougars to a 1-0 victory. Due to the postponement on Friday, a double header was also scheduled for Sunday. In game one of the Sunday double header, Washington State pulled out the victory 13-10. The Cougars scored four times in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by a game-tying homerun from Ben Roberts. In the second game, Washington State pulled off the series sweep by winning 12-2. Ben Roberts had three RBI.
Washington State sweeps Eastern Michigan.
Pac 12 Standings
Oregon State 8-0
Arizona 7-1
Oregon 6-1
Stanford 5-2
Arizona State 4-2
UCLA 4-2
Utah 4-2
Washington State 4-2
California 4-4
Washington 2-6
USC 4-3
5 Thoughts from the Weekend
- Oregon State is 8-0 and has looked dominate even without Michael Conforto finding his groove (.300, 0 HR, 4RBI) How are they doing it? How about a team ERA of 1.12 with three starters (Boyd, Child, and Moore) 2-0.
- Mark Appel was able to bounce back after a rocky start at Rice in which he went five innings and allowed two earned runs. Although it was not a bad start, it was not the usual start that made him a top pick the 2012 MLB draft. 9IP 1ER and 11K’s is good way to bounce back.
- OF Austin Wilson did not play this weekend. Although it’s early in the season, an injury to a potential first-round draft pick is always a reason for concern.
- Oregon struggled offensively this weekend. On Friday night they had five hits. Saturday they had two hits. Sunday they had four hits. After the weekend, they have a team batting average of .230. The weather was extremely difficult to play in and Loyola Marymount is a team with talent that could make a regional run.
- UCLA dropping a game against Minnesota at home 6-2 to open the season. Then being shut-out this weekend at Baylor on Saturday. The Bruins have hung some crooked numbers, but seem to be a bit inconsistent at the plate. Young expected contributors Zeile (.143), Eric Filla-Snyder (.185), and Ty Moore (.211), are off to rough starts.
