Pac-12 baseball in the polls: April 29
The rivalry weekend dust finally settled Monday with Cal's win over Stanford. Here's how the Top 25 standings look now in the latest USA Today baseball coaches' poll:
No. 3 Oregon State (31-8, 11-4 Pac-12)
Rivalry weekend couldn't have gone any better for the Beavers. They swept the hated Oregon Ducks while simultaneously vaulting over Washington in the process. The end result for Pat Casey's club: a four game winning streak and sole possession of first place in the Pac-12. The most entertaining part of the ride may still be coming up, as defending national champion UCLA and the Huskies themselves visit Corvallis on back-to-back weekends in May. It looks as if this race may be coming down to the wire. This weekend the Beavers head to Berkeley for a weekend tilt with Cal (7-11 Pac-12, 18-21).
No. 13 Washington (29-10-1, 15-5 Pac-12)
For the first time this season, the Huskies are not at the top of the Pac-12 standings. Still, it was another successful weekend for the Dawgs at their new Seattle digs, as they bounced back from a 6-4 Friday loss to archrival Washington State to take two of three from the Cougars in well-pitched fashion. Washington surrendered only one run over the final two games of the series, a Sunday doubleheader. Lindsay Meggs still has his squad in enviable position: The Huskies would like to keep Oregon State in striking distance before that aforementioned trip to Corvallis May 16-18. This May presents a chance for Washington to exorcise the demons of several lackluster seasons. But before they square off the Pat Casey and Company, UW healds to Salt Lake City this weekend to tussle with the Utes (3-15 Pac-12, 13-25).
No. 14 Oregon (31-13, 10-8 Pac-12)
The Ducks are slipping in the Pac-12 standings. They've dropped three of their past four series in conference play, and that's put them in precarious position when it comes to the title chase. Oregon's offense, which had been humming along nicely, scored only four total runs as it fell victim to a sweep against Oregon State. George Horton's squad will have a chance to bounce back against Arizona's (7-14 Pac-12, 18-25) pitching staff this weekend, and it's imperative that they do so to hang on to their impressive national ranking.