1. No. 7 Oregon (17-5, 5-1 Pac-12 Conference)
The Ducks continue to fly high and just became the first-place team in the conference. They’ve won eight of their last 10 games, including a sweep over Ohio State (15-7), taking two of three from USC and just recently swept Utah as well. Oregon also has the best weekend starters of the Pac-12 in Matt Krook (2-1), Jeff Gold (6-0) and Tommy Thorpe (3-2), who all have ERAs of 2.23 or less in six starts each.
2. No. 8 Oregon State (19-5, 4-2)
Pitchers just can’t seem to buy an out from Beavers junior outfielder Michael Conforto. In 24 games, he’s 28-for-75 (.373) at the plate with a homer and 30 runs batted in. OSU may have just lost a three-game series to ASU, but it’s still the second strongest team in the Pac-12 right now.
3. Washington (16-5-1, 5-1)
After a slow start to their season, the Huskies have found their groove. Victorious in nine of their last 10 games and coming off of a series win against ASU and a sweep over Arizona, don’t expect UW to be unranked for much longer.
4. No. 14 UCLA (14-8, 5-1)
Overrated? Probably not, but the Bruins still have a ways to go before becoming the national championship-winning team they were a year ago. UCLA is 1-3 this season against teams that are currently ranked in the NCBWA, but has performed well so far in conference play.
5. ASU (12-10, 3-3)
The Sun Devils are coming off of a huge series win against a very tough Oregon State team in Corvallis. While there’s been a lot of inconsistency so far in 2014 for ASU, it always seems to find its way in the end.
6. California (11-12, 0-3)
Sure, the Golden Bears are only playing .500 ball right now, but they’ve played a tough schedule compared to most of the other teams in their conference. In the Tiger Classic, Cal shutout No. 25 Auburn (17-8) and East Tennessee State (11-12).
7. USC (12-10, 3-3)
That 7-0 start seems to be just a sweet memory these days for the Trojans. Now that the schedule has become tougher, USC has struggled and is 4-6 in its previous 10 contests.
8. Stanford (8-10, 1-2)
Most of the time, the pitching staff is able to keep the Cardinal in games. But when it can’t, the offense has struggled to provide. We’ll see what this team is really made of now entering the thick of its conference play.
9. Arizona (11-15, 1-5)
It was a spring break to forget for Arizona after going 1-6 and recently being swept by Washington. With shaky pitching beyond Friday and Saturday night, the main reason to believe in the UA is they are coached by the best of the best in Andy Lopez.
10. Utah (9-13, 0-6)
Utah look like it’ll be the punching bag of the Pac-12 after being swept by Oregon State and Oregon. With a team batting average of .228, things won’t get any better for the Utes if they can’t start hitting.
—Follow Joey Putrelo @JoeyPutrelo
