Pac-12 at the Plate: Arizona hosts No. 2 Stanford, ASU takes on Utah

Here on Sports360AZ.com, Pac-12 at the Plate is the place to keep up with how ASU and Arizona baseball are stacking up in the conference.

This week Arizona hosts to No. 2 Stanford, while ASU hosts Utah. Here’s what you need to know ahead of the action this weekend:

Arizona hosts No. 2 Stanford

Last weekend, Arizona took two of three against USC. On Tuesday, the Cats dominated BYU in a midweek matchup with a final score of 6-1. Juan Aguilera improved to 5-0 on Tuesday in the Cats’ win against the Cougars. Aguilera now has a 1.19 ERA in 30.1 innings.

The Wildcats have won 11 of their last 13 games and have four straight series wins. They find themselves back in the rankings at No. 26 in Collegiate Baseball’s Top 30.

Arizona is coming into a big weekend of conference play against No. 2 Stanford starting on Friday. It will be a battle on the bump with two of the nation’s top pitching staffs going head to head at Hi Corbett.

The Cardinal leads the Pac and are fifth in the country with a 2.75 team ERA, while the Wildcats are third in the Pac and ninth in the nation with a 2.92 ERA. 

Arizona has been hot at the plate in the last few series. Sophomore Nick Quintana had three doubles, four RBIs in Friday’s win against USC. In that same night, Cameron Cannon went 2-4 with a home run and four runs scored. Juniors Alfonso Rivas and Cesar Salazar are both batting over .350 and senior Cal Stevenson is leading the team in triples with six.

If the Wildcats’ bats stay hot this weekend against Stanford’s solid pitching, Arizona has a good chance of taking this series.

ASU takes on Utah

ASU was swept by No. 2 Stanford last weekend. The Sun Devils have a six game losing streak, their last win coming on Apr. 6 against USC.

Sophomore RHP Alec Marsh recorded his second consecutive quality start last Friday and freshman Spencer Torkelson had another multi-hit game, but the Sun Devils couldn’t get anything going at the right time. The 3-1 final on Friday was as close as the Sun Devils would be able to keep the Cardinal all weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, Stanford’s pitching got the best of ASU. 

This weekend, ASU is hoping to get its first series win since the middle of March as they take on Utah. Utah was swept by No. 17 UCLA last weekend. The Utes were outscored 34-11 by the Bruins.

This series will be an opportune time for ASU to try to salvage the season some. As mentioned here before, however, Utah has a way of getting things done at the right time in conference play and could show out again this weekend.

Around the Pac

Oregon @ No. 7 Oregon State

Oregon State played a non-conference series against Missouri State last weekend. They swept the shortened series with two wins, the third game was cancelled due to cold temperatures. Oregon dropped the series against Washington last weekend.

The Beavers could have All-American Nick Madrigal back in the lineup for the Civil War series this weekend. Madrigal has missed more than half the season with a broken bone in his left wrist. The addition would bolster the Beavers already stacked lineup.

USC @ No. 13 UCLA

UCLA’s pitching has been rolling in the last few weekends. After a series win against top-ranked Stanford two weekends ago, the Bruins swept Utah this past weekend. USC put up a fight against Arizona last weekend getting a 12-2 win on Saturday, then the Trojans kept Sunday’s rubber match close, but dropped the series after a 4-2 loss in the finale. UCLA’s pitching is still in the Top 10, coming in at No. 8 with a 2.85.

Washington @ Cal

Cal will be looking to get back into it in conference play this weekend. The Golden Bears got the series win against Washington State last weekend, but still find themselves in the middle of the Pac with a 7-8 record (21-12 overall). Washington has done well in conference play this season. The Huskies are 8-4 in the Pac with a 17-15 overall record. This series will be telling for how these teams ultimately stack up.