I had an awful Week 13, but there were many upsets so I don't feel too terrible. I went 3-6 last week, correctly picking the record of UCLA, Washington State, and Arizona.
In the Pac-10, the Beavers remained on top of the standings despite dropping a game to the Washington Huskies on Saturday. The Sun Devils, after losing a series to USC over the weekend, slipped into a tie for second with UCLA.
Now we enter a new week, with the marquee series featuring Arizona @ Stanford.
In case you missed our first posts, 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.
So, here's my Week 14 picks.
Washington (Friday-Sunday, Arizona State)
Prediction : 0-3
The Huskies have won two in a row, but don't expect that streak to continue this weekend. The Sun Devils are now in an uphill battle for a national seed and will come into Husky Ballpark desperate to win all three games.
Washington State (Friday-Sunday, Oregon)
Prediction : 1-2
Both Oregon and Washington State have been wildly inconcistent this year, so this is a tough one pick. Oregon does come in feeling good after taking a series from Stanford and beating Gonzaga on Tuesday. I'll take the Ducks in Sunday's rubber-match after the teams split the first two games.
Oregon (Friday-Sunday, @ Washington State)
Prediction : 2-1
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Oregon State (Friday-Sunday, USC)
Prediction: 2-1
Both teams won their series last weekend, but USC felt much better about theirs after taking two of three from Arizona State. I think the Trojans steal the Friday night game in Corvallis, a game that they have to win to keep their NCAA hopes alive, but Oregon State should bounce back and easily take the final two.
California (Friday-Sunday, @ UCLA)
Prediction: 1-2
The Golden Bears will need around a 6-4 record down the stretch in order to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, so this weekend is huge for them. I think the Bruins pitching staff is just too solid though, and I like UCLA to take the series.
More predictions after the break
Stanford (Friday-Sunday, Arizona)
Prediction: 2-1
The Cardinal will likely need a 5-2 record down the stretch to get into postseason play, while a 3-3 record for Arizona would most likely get them in. I expect this series to be one of the best this weekend because both teams will be playing hard and desperate. In the end, I like Stanford to take the series at Sunken Diamond.
USC (Friday-Sunday, @ Oregon State)
Prediction: 1-2
Like I said above, I like the pitching matchup for the Trojans on Friday night, and I think they pull of a surprise upset. That will get the Beavers super focused for the rest of the weekend though, and I can't see Oregon State dropping more than one.
UCLA (Friday-Sunday, California)
Prediction: 2-1
The Bruins pitching staff is just too good to drop a home series against California. Expect the games to be close, but I'd be very surprised if the golden Bears got out of Los Angeles with more than one win.
Arizona (Friday-Sunday, @ Stanford)
Prediction: 1-2
Like I said before, this should be a great series. Both teams will want every game badly, but in the end I've got to go with Stanford. Don't be surprised though if Arizona takes this series.
Arizona State (Friday-Sunday, @ Washington)
Prediction: 3-0
The Sun Devils should sweep the Huskies pretty easily. With their national seed hopes on the line, I expect nothing less from Tim Esmay's club.
Record (Either a win, loss, or tie, based on correctly predicting that team's record for the weekend): 54-59-12, Goal: 68-66-12