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Pac-10 Baseball: Connor Predicts What Will Happen In Week One

For earlier college baseball coverage, click HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The Beavers open up the season on Saturday, but every other Pac-10 team opens up on Friday. That means it's time to start the predictions. I'll be predicting every Thursday-Monday Pac-10 game throughout the season, and I'll keep the records of everyone who joins in at the comments section.

Washington (Friday, vs Missouri State, Saturday, vs Nebraska, Sunday, vs Air Force)

Prediction : 2-1

The Huskies should get easy wins against MSU and AFA, but the Nebraska one will be a tough one. I've got Washington going 2-1 on opening weekend.

Washington State (Friday-Sunday, @ Cal State Bakersfield)

Prediction : 3-0

It's always tough to predict a sweep, but the Cougars are going to be scary good this season. College Baseball Today has them ranked 11th in their preseason poll, and a sweep is definitely in the cards against a young Roadrunner team.

Oregon (Friday-Monday, @ Hawaii)

Prediction : 3-1

The toughest series to predict this week. Hawaii is a traditional contender in the WAC and are always tough at home, especially with Cape Cod MVP Kolten Wong. But the Ducks are good as well, ranked 2nd in College Baseball Today's preseason poll. I've got the Ducks taking three out of four on the islands, but don't be surprised if Hawaii earns a split.

Oregon State (Saturday, vs Gonzaga, Sunday, vs Gonzaga, Sunday, @ Fresno State, Monday, @ Fresno State)

Prediction: 3-1

The Beavers follow up rival Oregon with a tough opening weekend of their own, battling an up and coming Gonzaga club in the first two games, and then taking on 25th Ranked Fresno State in their final two.

Oregon St.'s top returning arm, Sam Gaviglio, will go to the mound in the opener, and freshman Ben Wetzler, who has earned the #2 spot initially in the rotation, will start in Sunday's game against Gonzaga. Another freshman, Cam Booser has been tabbed by Oregon St. head coach Pat Casey to throw Sunday evening, when the Beavers take on Fresno State at 6:05 PM.

Junior lefty Josh Osich is still on a very limited pitch count, senior Dylan Jones has a broken finger, and team captain James Nygren is unavailable for opening weekend, serving a suspension the reason for which Casey has not specified.

I think the Beavers sweep Gonzaga, whose only main threat is pitcher Cody Martin. But Fresno State returns all four weekend starters along with seven fielders that include Jordan Ribera and Dusty Robinson, who hit 27 and 16 home runs last year, respectively. The Beavers should be able to get the Monday game against FSU, but I can't see them sweeping the Bulldogs.

California (Friday-Sunday, Utah)

Prediction: 3-0

The difference in this one will be at the mound, where California should destroy the Utes. Like I said before, I don't like predicting sweeps, but this is a very talented California team.

More predictions after the break

 

Stanford (Friday-Sunday, @ Rice)

Prediction: 1-2

This will be the best Pac-10 series of opening weekend, and most likely on the national scale as well. The Owls return the best hitter in the nation, along with three other great batters. The Cardinal are better at the mound, but I think being in Houston will give Rice the series win.

USC (Friday, Missouri, Saturday, North Carolina, Sunday, Cal Poly)

Prediction : 2-1

The Trojans got a nice field to come out for their opening weekend tournament, and two wins against Missouri and Cal Poly are likely. The UNC game will be the game of the weekend and most likely for the championship, but I can't see the Trojans getting past the Tar Heels.

UCLA (Friday-Sunday, San Francisco)

Prediction: 3-0

The fourth ranked Bruins shouldn't have any problems with USF. The Dons ace from last season is gone, and they only have two real threats at the plate.

Arizona (Friday-Sunday, North Dakota State)

Prediction: 3-0

Like UCLA, the Wildcats should have no problems with NDSU. The Bison do return all three weekend starters from last season, but Arizona still prevails in head to head matchups at the mound.

Arizona State (Friday-Sunday, New Mexico (4 Games)

Prediction: 4-0

The Lobos are no slouch, and I expect them to compete in every game, but I can't see the Sun Devils losing against UNM. In the end, ASU is just too talented for Ray Birmingham's Lobos.

Record (Either a win, loss, or tie, based on correctly predicting that team's record for the weekend): 0-0-0, Goal: 100-45-5

(AndyPanda also contributed to this article.)