Pac-12 Baseball Power Rankings: Oregon State gets big series win

Are the Beavers getting hot at the right time?

It was an interesting weekend around the Pac-12. Every series except the Cal/Arizona series was even through Saturday, putting a lot of pressure on everyone on Sunday.

Oregon State got the big series win of the week, while Arizona was easily the most disappointing team.

The top four looks to be pretty much solidified heading down the stretch, but the race for 5-12 will certainly be an interesting one.

Here's a look at this week's power rankings:

1. UCLA Bruins (31-9, 16-5 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 1

It's a little concerning that UCLA dropped the Friday game to Stanford, but bounced back with wins of 10-0 and 9-3 to win their tenth-consecutive series. This is the Bruins' weekend off from Pac-12 play, as they'll take on Long Beach State, Gonzaga and Pepperdine before visiting ASU in two weeks.

2. USC Trojans (30-12, 11-7 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 2

Yes, they lost a series to Oregon State this weekend, but their body of work is still more impressive than what the Beavers have done. I still think we're looking at the two L.A. schools hosting regionals this year, which would make that a fun weekend to visit the city of angels. The Trojans travel to Utah this weekend after a midweek game with Cal State Fullerton.

3. Oregon State Beavers (27-13, 10-8 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 4

We've seen this show from OSU before. They hang around during the early part of the year, and then strike late. They've had a big couple home weekends taking down Arizona then USC. A trip to Seattle awaits the Beavs this weekend, where they can certainly make a statement that they are back for good.

And make sure to watch this catch, because it's insane:

Howard's catch. Is that an #SCtop10 and #12best play or what? #gobeavs http://ift.tt/1JLNeKs

— Oregon St. Baseball (@Beaver_Baseball) April 26, 2015

4. Arizona State Sun Devils (28-12, 13-5 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 3

Not great to lose a home game to Tennessee Tech. Add to that the recent ineffectiveness of Ryan Burr, and ASU may be looking at some struggles down the stretch as they have the toughest schedule remaining. First up is a trip to Cal, which is a team that certainly gained some confidence this weekend in Tucson. But it should be noted that ASU has only played one team in the top six of this week's power rankings, and that was Oregon State back on the first weekend of conference play. They'll definitely have their hands full coming down the stretch.

5. Washington State Cougars (23-19, 7-11 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 5

WSU went in to Utah and took two-of-three, which is pretty much exactly what I expected to happen. They still have a game against Washington on Monday night before welcoming in the struggling Wildcats for three this weekend. I'd expect WSU to take two-of-three again this week, and continue to make their way up the actual standings.

6. California Golden Bears (26-14, 13-8 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 7

Alright, so last week I said you couldn't convince me that Cal is better than Arizona. I was wrong. Very wrong. Now Cal didn't look so great, but Arizona looked bad. Very bad. The Bears will stay behind Washington State right now because the Cougs won that series earlier in the year, and I think those two teams are pretty similar despite the records. It'll be interesting to see what happens in this Cal/ASU series this weekend in Berkeley.

7. Oregon Ducks (25-19, 7-11 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 8

They won a couple close games against Washington this weekend, and now play another team that seems to have turned it around in Stanford. I don't know what to make of either of them though.

8. Arizona Wildcats (24-17, 9-12 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 6

A bad look for the Wildcats against Cal. They're rewarded with a Tuesday game against ASU followed by a trip to Pullman. Frankly, they stay up this high because I can't drop them below Stanford, a team they swept on the road earlier this year. But that feels like a lifetime ago.

9. Stanford Cardinal (18-23, 5-13 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 10

Winning a Friday game against UCLA is pretty impressive. I give this team credit though. They could have folded up the tents when they dropped to 0-9 in conference, but 5-4 since and a date with the Oregon Ducks this weekend.

10. Washington Huskies (23-18, 8-13 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 9

UW drops simply because Stanford won a Friday game against UCLA. They could have easily swept Oregon, but instead lost the final two games of that series to blow an opportunity to get close to .500 in conference. Now they'll have to host the rising Beavers before travelling to Tucson next weekend.

11. Utah Utes (14-25, 6-12 Pac-12)

Previous ranking: 11

Frankly, if you had told me before the year that Utah would win six Pac-12 games, I would have called you crazy. They got one from Washington State this weekend, and now they'll spend another weekend at home, this time against USC.

12. Nevada Wolf Pack (33-11, 18-6 Mountain West)

Nevada has been wholly impressive this season, and has taken control of the Mountain West, holding a two-game lead over San Diego State, and also swept the Aztecs in San Diego two weeks ago. But Nevada gets the nod for honorary Pac-12 team of the week thanks wins of 12-0 and 27-2 over San Jose State this weekend, and then of course losing the third game 6-4. In that 27-2 game, the Wolf Pack had 25 hits, scored ten runs in the fourth inning, and scored all of their runs in the first six innings. Yeah, 27 runs in six innings. Nevada's only Pac-12 game this year was a close loss to Stanford, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them as a two-seed in a UCLA, USC or ASU regional.

Not a lot of great series this weekend around the Pac-12, but I guess the ASU/Cal one is the most intriguing. Cal came in last weekend struggling before sweeping the Wildcats, and ASU is trending down heading into a tough stretch. It'll be interesting to see how each of those teams respond.

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