Softball Notebook

7 05 2012

Showdown at the Berkeley Corral

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Cal & Arizona State Collide for Pac-12 Title

By Daniel Urban
TSC Analyst/Contributor

There are currently two teams atop the standings for the Pac-12: The University of California, Berkeley (California or Cal) and Arizona State. These two teams are set to play each other in an epic conference showdown at Berkeley this weekend, May 10th-12th.

Cal is currently sitting on top of the standings with a 19-2 conference record, but Arizona State is right behind at 17-2. As this is the final conference series for both ball clubs, the Pac-12 title is squarely on the line.

Cal will use every ounce of its home-field advantage, but Arizona State has history on its side. Last year ASU captured the conference title in convincing fashion, winning 13 of its final 14 games en route to the national championship. That came on the heels of its winning the national title only three years earlier. Cal has also won an NCAA championship, but it was ten years ago.

This year, though, Cal may have the upper hand. Last week marked the sixth consecutive week Cal ranked #1 in both polls and the 11th time this season that the Golden Bears have been the top choice in at least one poll. Cal received all 20 first-place votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and 29 of 30 first-place votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll.

The remaining first-place vote went Arizona State, which moved up to second after taking all three games from then 11th-ranked Washington.

Down the stretch, the Sun Devils have received a huge shot in the arm from shortstop Katelyn Boyd. The senior went 6-for-11 (.545) against the Huskies, including a grand slam that made her ASU’s all-time leader in career RBI’s (232). For her efforts, Boyd was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the fourth time this season.

But Cal has been building its own momentum. Last weekend the Bears swept #23 Oregon State three games to none, capped by a 4-1 win yesterday afternoon. It was Cal’s fifth Pac-12 series sweep and its seventh overall conference series victory.

ASU also swept its series this past weekend, but against much less intense competition in conference newcomer Utah (1-20 in Pac-12 play). The series finale saw the Sun Devils smashing the Utes 13-5 in six innings. Boyd again took center stage offensively, becoming ASU’s all-time leader in career doubles (55).

Cal and Arizona State are the clear front-runners in the Pac-12 this year. Their .905 and .895 conference winning percentages, respectively, are light years ahead of the 3rd place team’s (Oregon) with .579. The three-game set between these two teams for the Pac-12 title is going to be insane!

College