The end of the Pacific-10 Conference’s baseball season is almost upon us, and several league teams are well-positioned to earn postseason berths. Here’s a look at baseball programs around the Pac-10.
Arizona
Most college baseball teams have better records at home than on the road, but the Wildcats take the home/road discrepancy to a whole different level. While only 9-13 away from the friendly confines of Frank Sancet Stadium, Arizona has lost only one series at home, going 24-6 on the year. The Wildcats will try to better that mark next weekend, when they close out the regular season with a three game homestand against Washington.@@http://www.arizonawildcats.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/ariz-m-basebl-sched.html@@
Arizona State
At first glance, the Sun Devils (38-14, 16-8 Pac-10) appear to be a shoo-in to qualify for the postseason and perhaps even host a regional. But last December, the NCAA announced major sanctions, including a one-year postseason ban, against the program for an array of rules violations. Arizona State appealed the ruling, and will eventually get a decision. However, if no decision is made on the appeal by Monday, the Sun Devils will be in the postseason no matter what, and any remaining penalties will be deferred until next season.@@http://collegebaseball360.com/2011/04/01/could-arizona-state-baseball-still-make-the-2011-ncaa-field/@@
California
With the funding in place to secure its program for the foreseeable future, Cal’s baseball team is headed toward a berth in its second straight NCAA Tournament. The Bears (30-18, 13-11 Pac-10) are currently in fourth place in the conference, although they’ve struggled as the season has progressed. Since winning five in a row in mid-April, the Bears have dropped nine of 15 games, a stretch marked by a four-game losing streak against Arizona State and Stanford.@@http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/cal-m-basebl-sched.html@@
Oregon
Predicted to finish in the upper half of the Pac-10, the Ducks (29-26-1, 8-16 Pac-10) are instead headed for an eighth or ninth place finish as their disappointing season nears an end. Although Oregon did produce a quality stretch of five wins and one tie in seven games a few weeks back, the Ducks dropped a series at Washington State over the weekend, effectively ending any hopes they may have had at advancing to the NCAA Tournament.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=11401&SPSID=94835@@
Oregon State
Talk about a turnaround. A year after finishing in a tie for seventh place in the Pac-10, the Beavers are flying high atop the league at 17-7 (38-14 overall) and are in prime position to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament. It’s easy to see how Oregon State has improved so much in such a short duration of time — the Beavers have lowered their team ERA from 4.19 to 2.91, while raising their team on-base percentage from .367 to .372, an impressive gain when the new, pitcher-friendly bats are taken into account.@@http://www.pac-10.org/portals/7/images/baseball/stats/2009-10/lgteams.htm@@
Stanford
Fueled by an offense that ranks third in the conference in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, the Cardinal looks to be headed to yet another NCAA Tournament berth, its 29th. Stanford currently is tied for fifth place in the conference at 12-12 (30-19 overall) but fared well despite a rigorous non-conference road schedule against Rice, Texas and Vanderbilt.@@http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/stan-m-basebl-sched.html@@
UCLA
With two of the best pitchers in college baseball (Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole) and one of the best freshman starters in the nation (Adam Plutko) on their side, it’s no surprise the Bruins are tied with Arizona State for the second-best record in the conference at 16-8. For the season, UCLA’s pitchers have compiled a minuscule 2.33 ERA, tops in the league by a wide margin. That’s helped make up for a below-average Bruin offense that’s hitting only .265.
USC
Former head coach Chad Kreuter was let go after the Trojans failed to qualify for the postseason for the fourth straight season, but new coach Frank Cruz hasn’t had significantly more success. The Trojans are one of only three Pac-10 teams (along with Washington and Washington State) to have sub-.500 records overall. Curiously, however, the Trojans have fared well in conference play — they’re tied for fifth place at 12-12, in large part due to the contributions of Ricky Oropesa and Alex Sherrod, who have combined for 12 home runs and 69 RBI.@@http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/09/sports/la-sp-usc-baseball-20100810@@@@http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/cruz_frank00.html@@@@http://www.pac-10.org/portals/7/images/baseball/stats/2010-11/HTML/lgplyrs.htm@@
Washington
Mired in last place in the conference at 6-18 (16-34), the Huskies have had a forgettable year. They’re second to last in the league in team batting average (ahead of only Oregon) and team ERA (ahead of only Washington State). Even those lowly numbers may be deceiving, however. The Huskies are last in team runs batted in by a wide margin (they trail ninth place UCLA by 35) and have allowed 242 earned runs on the year, only two shy of the last-place Cougars. Washington can stake a claim to one favorable statistic, however — its pitching staff is second in the conference in pickoffs.@@http://www.pac-10.org/portals/7/images/baseball/stats/2010-11/HTML/lgteams.htm@@
Washington State
At 8-16 in league play (24-26 overall), the Cougars aren’t much better than their in-state rivals, but they’ve at least shown signs of life. Led by an offense that ranks fifth in the conference in batting average and fourth in slugging percentage, Washington State has won three of its past four games, and 19 of 31 at home. First baseman Taylor Ard is the key cog in the Cougars’ offense, with a .333 batting average, .546 slugging percentage, and conference-leading 50 RBI and eight home runs. Ard is tied for the lead league in long balls with his Cougar teammate Derek Jones.@@http://www.wsucougars.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/wast-m-basebl-sched.html@@
Baseball: Around the Pac-10 heading into postseason
Daily Emerald
May 22, 2011
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