Washington State at Oregon State
The final series of the Pac-12 for Oregon State and Washington State takes place at Goss Stadium in Corvallis. The Beavers hold a two game lead atop the conference with a three-game series against the Cougars left on the schedule. Washington State comes into the weekend with a 22-30 record. They are 8-19 in the Pac-12. The Cougars were swept by rival Washington last weekend, and then defeated Portland 1-0 during the midweek game. Oregon State, ranked No. 3 by the NCWBA, holds a 43-9 overall record. They are 22-5 in the Pac-12. The Beavers are coming off winning the series at Oregon last weekend. The Beavers and Ducks were also slated to play a midweek game, but it was cancelled due to the weather. With the win last weekend, the Beavers pretty much wrapped up a national seed and put themselves in perfect position to win the Pac-12.
Series Prediction: Oregon State sweeps Washington State.
Oregon at Utah
The Oregon Ducks end the 2013 Pac-12 season on the road at Utah. The Ducks come into the weekend ranked No.8 in the latest NCWBA poll. They are 43-13 and 20-7 in the Pac-12. Oregon is tied for second place with UCLA, although the Bruins hold the tie breaker after winning the series at Oregon. For Oregon, there is still a lot to play for. Although it would appear Oregon has clinched a bid to host a regional, the Ducks are still ranked No.8 in the latest RPI. Oregon sits at 0.613 while North Carolina State is right on their heels at 0.613. If Oregon wants to be considered for one of the last national seeds, they cannot afford to drop a game at Utah. The Utes are 20-29 and 6-21 in the Pac-12. Utah sits last in the conference, but are only two games behind Washington State. I
Series Prediction: Oregon sweeps Utah.
UCLA at Stanford
The most interesting series in the Pac-12 this weekend is UCLA travelling to Stanford. The Bruins come into the series tied with Oregon for second place. Ranked No. 11 in the NCWBA poll, the Bruins are 37-15 overall and 20-7 in the Pac-12. UCLA is coming off a series sweep last weekend at USC. The Bruins then followed up the sweep of the Trojans with a 2-1 victory against UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday. UCLA sits 15th in the latest RPI ranking and should secure a regional host bid with a strong finish. Stanford comes into the weekend 29-21 overall and 14-13 in the Pac-12. The Cardinal sits fifth in the conference, just one game back of Arizona State. It appears a long shot for Stanford to receive a regional bid, as the Cardinal rank 75th in the RPI. The conundrum is that most people believe the Pac-12 is a four bid league. If Stanford can sweep UCLA this weekend, and Arizona State falters at Washington, the Cardinal will move into fourth place. Stanford took the series from Arizona State, so any tie between the Cardinal and Sun Devils will go to Stanford. If Stanford can sweep UCLA, the Cardinal have an outside shoot of being selected, but that’s a big if.
Series Prediction: UCLA takes two out of three.
Arizona State at Washington
The Arizona State Wildcats finish the season against the Washington Huskies in Seattle this weekend. The Sun Devils come into the series with a 34-18-1 overall record. They are 15-12 in the Pac-12, just one game better than Stanford. Arizona State dropped the series against rival Arizona last weekend, and then lost to BYU 8-3 in their midweek game. The Sun Devils are ranked No. 16 in the NCWBA poll, and also sit 21 in the RPI rankings. Arizona State appears headed to a regional, but the Sun Devils do not have enough of a resume to justify hosting a regional. Washington sits 22-31 and 13-14 in the Pac-12. They are currently in sixth place, just one game back of Stanford. The Huskies have played well of late after sweeping Washington State last weekend. They have won three consecutive conference series against Washington State, Utah, and Arizona.
Series Prediction: Arizona State takes two out of three.
USC at Arizona
The USC Trojans travel to the desert this weekend to take on the Arizona Wildcats in the season finale. USC comes into the weekend with a 20-33 overall record. They are 10-17 in the Pac-12, which places them eighth in the conference. The Trojans were swept last weekend by UCLA, but did rebound by defeating UC Irvine 6-4 in the midweek matchup. Arizona begins the weekend at 31-21 and 12-15 in the Pac-12. The Wildcats currently sit seventh in the conference, but are just one game away from Washington for sixth. Arizona is also just two games away from Stanford for fifth and three games away from Arizona State for fourth. A lot of things would have to play out for Arizona to secure a regional bid. The Wildcats rank No. 59 in the latest RPI ranking. If they can sweep USC, and get some help from a lot of other teams, the Wildcats might just sneak into the postseason.
Series Prediction: Arizona takes two out of three.
** California season is over.
