Pac-12 Baseball Power Rankings: David Berg keeps UCLA on top

Pretty clear separation with the top four right now

Another week in the Pac-12, and another week of nothing really surprising going down.

The ASU/UW series ended up being the most intriguing, but the Huskies couldn't quite pull off the upset.

Here's a look back at the week that was, where there aren't too many changes at the top from last week's rankings.

1. UCLA Bruins (28-8, 14-4 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 1

UCLA took down Cal after dropping the first game of the series. Watching all three of those games on TV, it was amazing to watch David Berg do what he does at the end of games for the Bruins. Especially with Ryan Burr struggling a little bit for ASU right now, Berg is clearly the best reliever in the conference, and will be a huge reason this team goes far in the postseason. UCLA's won nine-straight series, and get Stanford this week to make it ten.

2. USC Trojans (29-10, 10-5 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 2

USC got smacked around by Oregon on Saturday, but the Trojans still came out with a series win on Sunday. They'll get a chance to make another big statement this weekend as they travel to Corvallis.

3. Arizona State Sun Devils (25-11, 13-5 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 3

It seems like Arizona kind of broke ASU's bullpen, as the relievers struggled to get outs at Washington this weekend, including a game-tying home run given up by Ryan Burr on Sunday. Just like all the top teams, they did end up taking two of three, but were not all that impressive.

But Tracy Smith did do this:

for being my old man, @ASUSkip can swing it around a lil bit! GET OUT BALL⚾️ http://ift.tt/1aLRTQB

— Jack (@Jack2mith) April 17, 2015

4. Oregon State Beavers (25-12, 8-7 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 4

OSU's offense probably should have done more against Arizona's bad pitching staff, but it did just enough to get the series win. This weekend hosting USC is just another huge three games for them to remake their postseason case.

5. Washington State Cougars (21-18, 5-10 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 6

Like I said last week about WSU, their 5-10 conference record is deceiving because they've already gone through the tough part of their schedule. After a break from Pac-12 play this past weekend, they travel to Salt Lake City to play Utah, followed by a Monday matinee game at Washington for some reason. Guessing they lose that game with the travelling and stuff, but should do well against the Utes.

6. Arizona Wildcats (24-13, 9-9 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 5

Arizona slips because of the poor offensive performance at Oregon State, especially in a winnable game on Sunday. A midweek game against ASU should actually be good for the Cats with the Devils struggling to find effective pitching outside of their three weekend starters right now. Of course, Arizona's pitching situation is up in the air as well. After that, a battle with Cal for 5th in the Pac-12 standings goes down at Hi Corbett.

7. California Golden Bears (23-13, 10-8 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 7

You still can't convince me that Cal is better than Arizona based on what I've seen them do the last few weeks. They've dropped three-straight series, and have taken themselves out of the postseason picture with that skid. It'll be interesting to see how Arizona and Cal match up this weekend, but the Bears continue to struggle in the month of April.

8. Oregon Ducks (23-18, 5-10 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 9

Oregon stays in front of Washington based on the fact that they won a game on the road this weekend, compared to UW's home win. Of course, they'll face each other this weekend to decide who really is the 8th-best team in the conference, because that's all we really want.

9. Washington Huskies (21-16, 7-11 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 10

It would have been nice to see them pull out the win on Sunday against ASU, but UW fell just short in ten innings. For some reason, Washington is 10-4 on the road this year, which could bode well for them as they go into Eugene. And they should always be a factor on Saturdays with Tyler Davis taking the mound for them.

10. Stanford Cardinal (16-21, 4-11 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 11

Stanford has two-straight series wins after taking two of three from Utah this weekend. I can't imagine that trend continuing with UCLA coming to town this weekend, but you never know. Good to see Stanford show some fight here in the middle of the conference season though.

11. Utah Utes (13-22, 5-10 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 8

What are you doing Utah?! The second I start buying into you, and you go get roughed up in Palo Alto. I still can't believe you won a series in Tucson and almost took down ASU.

12. Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (22-15-1, 10-4-1 WAC, 1-1 Pac-12)

Up until Sunday, this was looking a lot better than it does now, but I'm sticking with it. CSUB had won nine straight games by a combined score of 71-7. 71-7!! The Roadrunners also split two games with ASU earlier this year, so they're alright in my book.

The Pac-12 series of the week is easily USC at Oregon State. Unfortunately, none of the games will be on TV, but Oregon State will stream them, just like the Arizona games last week. Friday's game is at 5:30 PT, Saturday at 1:30 and Sunday at 1.

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