1. Washington (29-11-1, 16-5 Pac-12) The Huskies dropped the opener to Washington State 6-4 but rebounded to win their seventh conference series of the year. Next up for UW: a road series versus last-place Utah. 2. Oregon State (31-8, 14-4 Pac-12) The Beavers defended their home turf with a convincing sweep of rival Oregon, and they are a game ahead of Washington in the Pac-12 standings. They host a reeling UCLA team next in league play.
3. USC (24-18, 12-9 Pac-12)
The Trojans went on an absolute tear, as a sweep of defending national champion UCLA across town in Westwood, Calif., capped a nine-game win streak. USC can be a playoff dark horse if it continues to stay hot down the stretch.
4. ASU (24-17, 12-9 Pac-12)
Coach Tim Esmay was not satisfied with taking two of three from UA, but the Sun Devils will need to turn the page quickly, with a huge nonconference series at Oklahoma State looming.
5. Oregon (31-13, 10- 8 Pac-12) The Ducks had an excellent chance to add to their playoff resume, but laid an egg against the rival Beavers in Corvallis, Ore., blowing a solid opportunity to boost Oregon's RPI.
6. Washington State (18-22, 8-10 Pac-12)
With just one road Pac-12 series series left, the Cougars have a chance to go on a run like USC did, and make up some serious ground in the standings with nine of their last 14 games at home. 7. UCLA (22-19-1, 9-9 Pac-12) Trouble is brewing for the Bruins in Westwood, Calif., after being swept in an embarrassing fashion by the crosstown rival Trojans, including a 10-0 loss in game one. UCLA is in serious danger of dropping out of postseason contention, and its schedule only gets tougher. 8. Stanford (19-19, 7-11 Pac-12) The Cardinal dropped two off three to a mediocre Cal team at home, and the upcoming series at UCLA, a primetime, national TV matchup that was looking like a hot ticket a few weeks ago, will be DVR material at best. 9. UA (18-25, 7-14 Pac-12) Coach Andy Lopez had to be pleased with the way his team salvaged the final game of the Territorial Cup Series with a 6-1 win over ASU. However, the Wildcats will probably serve as a welcome mat for Stanford and Oregon in their upcoming series. UA's conference schedule will conclude in a battle of the Pac-12 cellar-dwellers in Berkley, Calif., against Cal.
10. Cal (19-21, 7-11 Pac-12) If the Golden Bears can finish out the year with the momentum they gained with a series win over Stanford in the Battle of the Bay, they can consider the second half of the season a success. However, won't be easy to steal a game from legitimate contenders like USC and Oregon on the road. 11. Utah (13-26, 3-15 Pac-12) The college baseball gods have mercifully blessed the Utes with an end date to their forgettable 2014 season — May 25 with a home series against Stanford — but not before they play WSU and ASU on the road.
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @modrich_22
