Pac 12 Weekend Preview April 19/20/21

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Oregon State at Washington

The Oregon State Beavers travel north this weekend to take on the Washington Huskies in a series that pits the first place Beavers against the last place Huskies. Oregon State arrives in Seattle ranked No. 6 in the latest NCWBA poll. The Beavers are 29-6 and 10-2 in conference play. They defeated Portland during a midweek matchup by a final of 5-1. The Beavers are also coming off a three-game sweep against Utah last weekend. The Washington Huskies enter the weekend with a 9-25 record. They are 3-9 in conference play. The Huskies dropped a midweek game to Seattle University by a final of 10-4. Washington also dropped the series against Stanford last weekend. This should be a series in which Oregon State adds to their conference wins record. The Beaver weekend starting staff is 5-1 with a 1.49 ERA over the last two conference weekends. They have allowed seven earned runs in 42 and 1/3 innings, while striking out 36 and walking 14. The Huskies, and their tenth place team batting average of .252, could be in for a long weekend. Ryan Barnes for the Beavers also has an 11-game hit streak.

Series Prediction: Oregon State Sweeps Washington

Friday, April 19 – 5:00 p.m. PT

Oregon State- Matt Boyd LHP (7-1, 1.55 ERA)

Washington- Jared Fisher RHP (0-2, 4.91 ERA)

Saturday, April 20- 2:00 p.m. PT

Oregon State- Andrew Moore RHP (7-1, 1.61 ERA

Washington- Austin Voth RHP (4-4, 2.90 ERA)

Sunday, April 21- 1:00 p.m. PT

Oregon State- Ben Wetzler LHP (2-1, 1.97 ERA)

Washington- TBD

UCLA at Oregon

The series with the most intrigue in the conference this weekend is UCLA traveling to Eugene to take on Oregon. The Bruins are 23-10 and 7-5 in conference play. They are ranked No.12 in the NCWBA poll, and are coming off a midweek victory against UC Irvine by a final of 6-4 in 12 innings. The Bruins took two out of three against Loyola Marymount last weekend. Oregon holds a record of 28-8 and 12-3 in conference play. The Ducks are ranked No. 8 in the NCWBA poll, and are coming off a midweek victory against Portland by a final of 4-1. The Ducks swept California last weekend in the Bay Area. This is a big series for both Oregon and UCLA. The Ducks hold a two game lead over both UCLA and Stanford for second place. If the Bruins take two out of three, they pull within one game of second place. If Oregon takes two out of three, they separate themselves even further from the rest of the conference. These two teams are about as close statistically as it gets. Oregon ranks seventh in the conference with a .268 batting average, while UCLA sits ninth with a .252 average. On the mound, UCLA ranks second with a 2.62 team ERA, while Oregon ranks third with a 2.93 ERA. Oregon is first in the conference with a .988 fielding percentage, while UCLA ranks second with a .980 fielding percentage. The difference could come down to home field advantage in which Oregon is 15-3 at home. UCLA is 7-3 on the road this year.

Series Prediction: Oregon takes two out of three

 

Friday, April 19 – 7:00 p.m. PT

Oregon- Tommy Thorpe LHP (5-3, 3.07 ERA)

UCLA- Adam Plutko RHP (4-2, 2.62 ERA)

Saturday, April 20 – 7:00 p.m. PT

Oregon- Cole Irvin LHP (7-1, 3.45 ERA)

UCLA- Nick Vander Tuig LHP (5-3, 2.09 ERA)

Sunday, April 21 – 12:00 p.m. PT

Oregon- Jake Reed RHP (4-3, 3.54 ERA)

UCLA- Grant Watson LHP (5-2, 2.79 ERA)

 

Arizona at Stanford

The other premiere matchup in the Pac-12 this weekend takes place on the Farm as Arizona travels to Stanford. The Wildcats enter the weekend ranked No. 25 in the latest NCWBA poll. They are 24-12 and 8-7 in conference play. Arizona is coming off a midweek win against Arizona State by a final of 8-7. The Wildcats took two out of three last weekend against Washington State. Stanford ranks just ahead of Arizona at No. 24 according to the NCWBA. The Cardinal are 20-11 and 7-5 in the Pac-12. Stanford beat Pacific, by a final of 9-2, during their midweek game. They also took two out of three from Washington last weekend. This is another series in which one team has a lot to gain. Arizona sits two games back from both UCLA and Stanford. Depending on the outcome of UCLA and Oregon, a Wildcat series victory pulls Arizona within one game of third place. If Stanford wins, they could see themselves either holding third place or even jump as far as second place. On paper this matchup appears pretty even, although Arizona holds the edge offensively. The Wildcats sit atop the conference with a .310 batting average, while Stanford sits sixth with a .271 average. Stanford is fourth in team ERA with a 3.03 mark, while Arizona is fifth with a 3.67 team ERA. Like every matchup with Stanford, the key to the series will be how the Cardinal starters pitch on Saturday and Sunday. The Crawford/Hochstatter matchup on Sunday will be the game to watch. The winner takes the series.

Series Prediction: Stanford takes two out of three

Friday, April 19 – 7:00 p.m. PT

Stanford- Mark Appel RHP (6-2, 1.41 ERA)

Arizona- Konner Wade RHP (3-3, 3.86 ERA)

 

Saturday, April 20 – 7:00 p.m. PT

Stanford- Dean McArdle RHP (2-1, 4.12 ERA)

Arizona- James Farris RHP (4-3, 3.70 ERA)

 

Sunday, April 21 – 2:00 p.m. PT

Stanford- John Hochstatter RHP (2-1, 3.06 ERA)

Arizona- Tyler Crawford RHP (4-1, 2.56 ERA)

 

 

Washington State at California

The Washington State Cougars travel to Berkley to take on the California Golden Bears this weekend. The Cougars come into the weekend with an 18-16 overall record and a 5-7 conference record. Washington State lost 4-3 to Gonzaga in their midweek matchup. They also dropped the series last weekend to Arizona. California enters play with a 16-20 record. They are 5-10 in conference play. The Bears lost 11-5 to San Francisco during their midweek game, and were swept by Oregon last weekend. California has lost eight in a row. Look for both teams to score this weekend, but look for Washington State to score more. The Cougars are second in the conference with a .308 team batting average. California ranks eighth with a .266 batting average. The difference maker will be on the mound where the Cougars rank eighth with a 4.16 ERA, while California is last in the conference with a 4.83 team ERA.

Series Prediction: Washington State takes two out of three

 

Friday, April 19- 6:00 p.m. PT

Washington State- Joe Pistorese LHP (4-2, 2.23ERA)

California- Ryan Mason, RHP, (4-2, 4.14 ERA)

Saturday, April 20- 6:00 p.m. PT

Washington State- Tanner Chleborad RHP (3-6, 4.97 ERA)

California- Justin Jones, LHP, (1-4, 5.58 ERA)

Sunday, April 21- 2:00 p.m. PT

Washington State- Scott Simon RHP (3-1, 4.21 ERA)

California-TBD

 

USC at Utah

The USC Trojans will travel to Utah this weekend to take on the Utes in Salt Lake City. USC comes into the weekend 14-22 overall and 6-9 in the Pac-12. The Trojans beat Loyola Marymount, during their midweek game, by a final of 5-2. USC dropped the series last weekend against Arizona State. Utah sits at 15-17 overall and 4-11 in the conference. The Utes beat Utah Valley, by a final of 7-6, on Tuesday. Utah was swept last weekend by Oregon State in Corvallis. This is a series that could go either way. On the mound, Utah hold the advantage with a 3.82 ERA, compared to USC’s 4.78 ERA. Offensively, USC holds the advantage with a .281 team batting average, compared to Utah’s .240 team batting average. The difference in the series could come down to defense. The Trojans are third in the conference with .975 fielding percentage, while Utah ranks last in the conference with a .961 fielding percentage. USC has committed 34 errors while Utah has committed 48. There is still no mention if USC starter Bob Wheatley will pitch in this series. The Friday starter is still listed TBD.

Series Prediction: USC takes two out of three

 

Friday, April 19- 6:00 p.m. PT

Utah- Mitch Watrous RHP (2-2, 3.35 ERA)

USC- TBD

 

Saturday, April 20- 12:00 p.m. PT

Utah- Dalton Carroll RHP (3-3, 4.33 ERA)

USC- Wyatt Strahan, RHP (1-2, 2.62 ERA)

 

Sunday, April 21- 12:00 p.m. PT

Utah- Tanner Banks RHP (1-4, 3.38 ERA)

USC- Kyle Twomey, LHP (2-4, 5.40 ERA)

 

 

Valparaiso at Arizona State

Arizona State takes a break from conference play this weekend as they take on Valparaiso in Tempe. Arizona State, ranked No. 14 in the NCWBA poll, comes into the weekend with a 22-11-1 record. The Sun Devils are 8-7 in the Pac-12. Arizona State is coming off a midweek loss, against Arizona, by a final of 10-9. The Sun Devils were able to take two out of three last weekend against USC. Valparaiso sits at 14-21 overall and 4-8 in conference play. The Crusaders beat Roosevelt 15-3 on Wednesday, and took two out of three last weekend against Western Michigan.