Pac-12 Review: April 3

Pac-12 recap week 7

Stanford was off from Pac-12 play this weekend, opting for a 4-game series with Oklahoma in Norman, which they split 2-2 with wins in games 1 and 4. Game 1, the Cardinal put up 23 runs on the way to winning by 12 runs, with a plethora of offense based around 19 hits. Games 2 & 3 did not look as good for Stanford, as they lost 2-0 in game 2 and then dropped the third game 6-5. The Cardinal found their resolve and got the offense going again in game 4, winning handily 16-5. It was a weird series by the Cardinal, and the inconsistent performance has been the status quo for a team picked to not only win the Pac-12 but possibly return to Omaha. They are going to need to get things rolling to live up to those projections.

Oregon State and Washington met in Seattle, on the edge of Lake Washington, and the winds were a-howling! Friday night was postponed due to rain, so a double header was scheduled Saturday. Oregon State, a team trying to find its identity, found enough to take both games from a Washington club that came in red hot. The Beavers took the first game 6-3, with timely hits from Travis Bazanna, Mason Guerra, and Mikey Kane. The second game of the twinbill provided much of the same, with Bazanna hitting a grand slam and Forrester a solo shot, the pair of dingers proving to be enough as the Beavers won 5-1. Game 3 was back and forth early, but the Huskies would not be swept at home and got a much needed win, pushing them back to .500 in Pac-12 play.

Arizona State came into the weekend leading the Pac-12 standings and really playing great ball, while California had been going the opposite direction. Friday night, the Sun Devils took care of business 4-1, with a pitching staff looking to continue their winning ways. Game two, the Cal Bears would come from behind and beat the Sun Devils 5-4, setting up the rubber match on Sunday. It was a crazy back and forth game, but a huge 8th inning pushed Arizona State onto the win. It's another series win for the Sun Devils, and they are really rolling!

UCLA made the trip up to Pullman to play in some frozen ball against the Washington State Cougars. WSU had been on a tear in the preseason but had leveled off as of late. Still, they proved chill or no chill, they were equal to beating up on the UCLA pitching and winning 9-5 on a cold Friday evening. Saturday's game was postponed due to snow… yup you heard that correctly, snow in April, LOL no fool's joke here. Unfortunately, due to the weather, we would only have a two-game series, and Washington State would win 5-1 to take both games from a struggling Bruin team that's still looking to get out of its offensive slump. It's a big series win for the Cougs who have already taken 2 of 3 from the Oregon State Beavers.

The Oregon Ducks headed down to Arizona, looking to keep the Wildcats reeling after some early season Pac-12 struggles. Well, they did exactly that by winning game 1 on Friday, 15-3, absolutely rolling Arizona. Game 2 on Saturday was initially a big bounce back by Arizona; however, the Ducks would come back from down 10 runs to win 13-11, an absolute gut punch for the Wildcats at home. The Ducks have been tearing the cover off the ball, just crushing pitching so far, and the young pitchers have been holding their own. Game 3 saw a little less offense, but the Ducks still put up 8 runs, beating Arizona 8-5 and finishing off the sweep. What a huge series on the road for the Ducks!

The University of Southern California found themselves headed to Salt Lake City, to take on the Utah Utes. The Trojans are hot and have been partying like it's 1999, as they entered the weekend with the most Pac-12 wins. Game 1 was a Trojan shutout win, 4-0, a really great performance by the pitching staff, which was not to be out done by the staff shutting out Utah in game 2 as well, winning 10-0 and taking over 1st place in the Pac-12 due to the Arizona State loss and Stanford not playing a conference foe! SC earning their ninth win in eleven games has already surpassed their conference win total from 2022. Heading into the third game of the series on Sunday, the Trojans needed to keep hot to hang onto first place, but it was just not their day. Utah would take control early and the Utes would roll onto an 8-3 victory, but it's still four straight Pac-12 series wins for the Trojans.

Current Pac-12 Standings

1) Stanford 7-2

2) Arizona State 7-2

3) USC 9-3

4) Oregon 6-3

5) Washington 5-4

6) UCLA 6-5

7) Washington State 5-6

8) Oregon State 5-7

9) Arizona 3-9

10) California 3-9

11) Utah 3-9

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