Now that we are half way through Pac-12 play, we've seen some teams reign over others while some fall to the bottom. Although there is still time for teams to pick up the slack, we are starting to see which teams deserve to be at the top of the rankings.
The Ducks continue to dominate the Pac-12, leading the conference in batting average, doubles and home runs. Oregon found their first two losses of Pac-12 play against the UCLA Bruins, but they turned that around the following weekend by sweeping Oregon State. Senior pitcher Cheridan Hawkins has proven to be a key player for the Ducks, after being named Pitcher of the Week by Pac-12 conferences weekly honors.
The Huskies are on a five-game winning streak after taking the series 2-1 against Arizona and sweeping ASU. Two Washington players — senior infielder Kimberlee Souza and freshman pitcher Taran Alvelo — were recognized with Pac-12 weekly honors. The Huskies will face off with the California Golden Bears as they look to continue their winning streak.
UCLA has proven that they deserve to be at the top of the conference. After handing Oregon its first two losses of conference play, they continue to power past all teams. The Bruins won their first two games of the series against Stanford and will look to sweep the Cardinal in the series finale Monday night.
The Wildcats fell to the tough Washington Huskies team twice in the three-game series despite a dominant performance by redshirt junior pitcher Danielle O'Toole, who leads the Pac-12 in wins (16). Arizona will face off with the struggling Stanford Cardinal in the upcoming weekend.
The Bears had a tough weekend against the Sun Devils, winning just once, but they followed it with a series victory over Utah on a walk-off base hit. Cal will play against the Washington Huskies next.
Utah struggled against the California Golden Bears last weekend, but in its sole win against Cal, sophomore outfielder Heather Bowen and junior infielder Anissa Urtez both hit a homer. The next match up against Arizona State will be a test for the Utes.
The Sun Devils were unable to pick up a single win in the series against the Washington Huskies last weekend, but they did find two wins against the California Golden Bears. Senior center fielder Jennifer Soria and junior shortstop Chelsea Gonzales both have 11 home runs on the season. As a team, ASU has the second most hits in the Pac-12 (347) but that hasn’t been enough for them. They will look to snap their four game losing streak against Utah in the upcoming weekend.
Oregon State had a tough weekend, getting swept by the powerful Oregon Ducks. the Beavers couldn’t catch up to Oregon’s ace junior pitcher Cheridan Hawkins, scoring only four runs in the series against the Ducks. They have another two weekends of tough competition as the face off against UCLA and Washington.
Still without a conference victory, Stanford has yet to find its groove. It has a chance tonight against UCLA in the series final, but it won't get easier after that; in the following week, the Cardinal will take on the Huskies, who are ranked number two.
Related links:
Palacio's two home runs not enough for ASU softball
ASU softball allows five runs in first two innings, falls to Washington
Reach the reporter at lmbrunet@asu.edu or follow @Leah_brunette on Twitter.
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