Pac 12 Weekend Recap for May 10/11/12

Oregon State at Stanford

Oregon State traveled to Stanford over the weekend and delivered a knockout blow to the Cardinal’s chances of playing in the postseason. In game one on Friday, Oregon State defeated Stanford 7-3. The Beavers tagged Appel to the tune of five earned runs in five innings. Appel also had five walks. Beaver starter Matt Boyd picked up his 10^th win of the year after pitching 6 and 1/3 innings of three-run ball. Right fielder Dylan Davis knocked in three RBI, while second baseman Andy Peterson had three hits to lead the Beavers.

On Saturday, Oregon State claimed the series with a 10-4 victory. The victory was the Beavers 40^th on the year. Beaver starter Andrew Moore improved to 10-1, after pitching six innings of two-run ball. Right fielder Dylan Davis had three hits and drove in five RBI. Second baseman Andy Peterson and center fielder Max Gordon also had three hits.

Oregon State finished off the sweep Sunday by a final of 5-4. First baseman Danny Hayes hit his fourth home run of the year and drove in three RBI. Lefty starter Ben Wetzler picked up his sixth victory of the year after pitching 6 and 1/3 inning of two run ball. He struck out five and walked one.

Oregon State: 41-8, 20-4

Stanford: 26-20, 11-13

Oregon State sweeps Stanford

Arizona at UCLA

Another Pac-12 team had its postseason bubble presumably burst this weekend, after UCLA swept Arizona. In game one on Friday, Cody Regis had a career high six RBI to lead the Bruins to a 10-2 victory. Bruin starter Adam Plutko was credited with his seventh victory of the season, after pitching 6 and 2/3 innings of two-run ball. He struck out seven and walked one.

Saturday saw UCLA take the series, behind 7 and 1/3 innings of one-run ball from Bruin starter Nick Vander Tuig. Second baseman Cody Regis led the way for the Bruins once again with a 4-4 day. He had two RBI.

On Sunday, UCLA defeated Arizona 12-5, to finish off the sweep. First baseman Chris Keck went 2-3 on the day with four RBI. Third baseman Kevin Kramer also had a monster day with three hits and three RBI.

UCLA sweeps Arizona

UCLA: 34-14, 17-7

Arizona: 29-20, 10-14

Arizona State at California

Arizona State bounced back from a Friday night loss, to take the series against California. In the loss on Friday, California was able to score three runs in the bottom of the 8^th inning to win by a final of 3-1. Designated hitter Devon Rodriquez drove in two RBI.

Saturday saw Arizona State come from behind in dramatic fashion to even the series at 1-1. Kasey Coffman hit a three-run homerun in the top of the 8^th inning to tie the game at 9-9. In the top of the ninth inning, second baseman James McDonald hit a leadoff homer to give Arizona State a 10-9 victory.

On Sunday, Arizona State took the series by a final of 10-7. With two out in the top of the ninth inning, trailing 7-6, Nate Causey hit a grand slam to give Arizona State the lead and eventually the win.

Arizona State wins the series 2-1.

Arizona State: 32-15-1, 14-10

California: 22-28, 10-17

Utah at Washington

Utah traveled to Seattle to take on the Huskies over the weekend. In game one on Friday, Utah defeated Washington 5-4 in 10 innings. Utah’s Cory Hunt delivered an RBI single in the 10^th to give Utah the victory.

On Saturday, Austin Voth picked up his sixth victory of the year, as Washington defeated Utah 5-2. Voth went eight innings, while only allowing two runs. He struck out six and walked two. Four different Huskies had an RBI apiece.

Washington was able to secure a conference series victory on Sunday, as they defeated Utah 3-2. Joe Meggs and Robert Pehl each had two hits for the Huskies.

Washington wins the series 2-1.

Washington: 19-30, 10-14

Utah: 17-28, 6-21

Washington State at USC        

The USC Trojans were able to take two out of three from Washington State over the weekend. In game one on Friday, the Cougars held on for a 7-6 victory. Right fielder Jason Monda and Trace Tam Sing each had three hits in the victory.

The Trojans responded on Saturday, as USC defeated Washington State 5-1. Trojan starter Wyatt Strahan pitched his first complete-game of his career. He struck out six and walked two. Strahan allowed one run on seven hits. The Trojan offense was supplied by Greg Zebrack, who had four hits on the day.

Sunday saw another masterful Trojan start, as Nigel Nootbaar pitched a complete-game seven-hitter. He struck out three and walked three, but did not allow a run as USC defeated Washington State 11-0. The Trojans wrapped out 17 hits in the victory as eight of the nine starters collected a hit.

Oregon at Ohio State

Oregon swept Ohio State over the weekend, as the Ducks took a break from conference play. The Ducks defeated the Buckeyes 3-1, 4-0, 1-0. The sweep was a nice road victory for Oregon as they continue to battle for the final national seed.

Pac-12 Standings

Oregon State                      20-4

Oregon                                19-5

UCLA                                   17-7

Arizona State                    14-10

Stanford                              11-13

Arizona                               10-14

USC                                       10-14

Washington                       10-14

California                           10-17

Washington State            8-16

Utah                                      6-21

 Takeaways from the Weekend

Sanford being swept by Oregon State really hurts the Cardinal’s chances of playing in the postseason. Stanford now sits with an RPI of 80, and with conference series of California and UCLA left, the belief is that Stanford does have enough to warrant a postseason bid. Injuries have hurt the Cardinal this season, but one can’t help but feel that this group underachieved. Who would have thought that a team with three potential first-round draft picks in Appel, Wilson, and Ragira, would fail to make the postseason. Stanford will have to play flawless baseball the rest of the way, and hope for a little luck from the selection committee.

The defending national champions also being presumably eliminated from postseason contention. Arizona sits with a worse RPI than Stanford, 87, and has nobody to blame but themselves. Arizona was swept by Oregon State, Oregon, and UCLA. They lost series to Stanford and Washington. Their conference series victories are against Utah, California, and Washington State, the three bottom teams in the conference. With matchups against Arizona State and USC left on the schedule, the perception is that Arizona has sealed their own fate.  Preseason matchups against Coppin State ( RPI of 292), San Jose State (RPI of 271), Utah Valley ( RPI 204), and Alabama State (RPI 243), accounted for 11 of the 29 Wildcat victories, but might end up costing Arizona.

Hard not to mention the conference showdown this weekend between Oregon State and Oregon. Both teams are locks for postseason play, but there is a lot riding on the series in Eugene. If Oregon State wins the series, it pretty much locks up the Pac-12 title for the Beavers. With an RPI of 6, Oregon State would also solidify their national seed. If Oregon can win the series, it will put them out game up for first place. Their final series is at Utah, so that one game might be enough to give Oregon its first Pac-12 championship since reinstituting baseball. Oregon is also sitting with an RPI of 8. A series victory over the Beavers would go a long way in locking up one of the final national seeds.