With UCLA, USC and Arizona State in the top 10 of the six major ranking systems, it’s not too hard to expect at least one team to represent the Pac-12 in Omaha, Nebraska this spring.
1. UCLA (23-6, 10-2)
The Bruins have returned to championship form with a combination of elite pitching and consistent offense. Kevin Kramer and Ty Moore are batting .387 and .378 respectively at the top of the UCLA lineup, while ace starter James Kaprielian (6-2, 2.09 ERA) and closer David Berg (3-0, 1.21 ERA) have kept teams off the scoreboard.
2. USC (25-6, 7-2)
USC got off to a hot start, beating then No. 6 TCU and then No.1 Vanderbilt in March en route to a 15-1 record before the start of conference. The Trojans have come back down to earth a bit, but still have one of the best rosters in the conference.
Bobby Stahel is second in the Pac-12 with a .435 batting average and Garrett Stubbs is right behind him with a .377 average, while southpaw Kyle Twomey (5-1, 2.23 ERA) has developed into a bona-fide ace.
3. Arizona State (21-8, 9-3)
The Phoenix Municipal Stadium era got off to a bang as the Sun Devils took two of three against Oklahoma State to start the season before dropping two of three against TCU a week later. Since then, ASU has used a balanced attack to pick up nine conference wins right away.
Johnny Sewald is No. 2 in the conference with 15 stolen bases, while closer Ryan Burr leads the conference with 17.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
4. California (21-9, 8-4)
The Golden Bears are in the middle of one of the best starts in program history having won 21 of their first 30 games, their best mark since reaching the second round of the College World Series in 2011.
First baseman Chris Paul leads the way on offense with a .355 average, six home runs and 26 RBI while freshman starter Jeff Bain (4-1, 1.88 ERA) holds down the front of Cal’s rotation.
5. Arizona (22-9, 7-5)
The Wildcats have used a potent offense and a favorable schedule to pick up steam in the first half of the season. Arizona leads the nation with a .327 batting average, but fell out of several polls after getting swept by USC last weekend.
6. Oregon State (22-9, 5-4)
With a solid .978 fielding percentage and a mix of decent pitching and offense, the Beavers aren’t quite as dangerous as they were a year ago, but still pose a threat to any Pac-12 team brave enough to underestimate them.
7. Washington (18-12, 5-7)
Led by Braden Bishop (.344, 18 RBI) and Tyler Davis (5-2, 1.89 ERA), the Huskies have picked up key sweeps against conference foes to keep themselves in the hunt for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
8. Utah (10-19, 4-8)
9. Washington State (14-16, 3-9)
10. Oregon (18-15, 2-7)
11. Stanford (11-18, 0-9)
Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @JoshSchlichter
Pac-12 baseball review
Josh Schlichter
April 8, 2015
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