2012 Pac-12 Baseball
There are currently five teams in the Pac-12 with a .500 record or better in conference play. UCLA and Arizona are at the top with a 7-2 conference record followed by Oregon and Oregon State both at 6-3 and Washington at 3-3. UCLA is currently in first place overall with a 20-5 record on the season with Arizona right behind at 21-7. The Bruins have been the hottest team in the Pac-12 going 8-2 over their last 10 games.
Since Sunday (April 1st) there have only been four Pac-12 conference games and all were played on Sunday. Arizona defeated Stanford by a score of 6-2. The Cardinals led that game 2-0 before Arizona scored the final six runs in the game. Arizona right fielder Robert Refsnyder hit his first homerun of the season and had a three RBI day. Arizona also got a complete game from starting pitcher James Farris who improved to 4-1 on the season.
Oregon held off a 9th inning rally by Arizona State and held on for a 4-3 win. Arizona State scored two runs in the 9th inning to cut it to a one run deficit but closer Jimmie Sherfy was able to lock down his sixth save of the season. His save helped sophomore pitcher Brando Tessar improve to 4-0 on the season.
The Oregon State Beavers got a sixth homerun of the season from left fielder Michael Conforto in a 5-3 victory over Washington. The loss was the first of the season for Washington pitcher Austin Voth.
Lastly, the Bruins got six innings of one run ball by Grant Watson for a 5-1 victory of Utah. The win was the sixth of the season for Watson.
The Pac-12 also announced its players of the week for April 2nd. Washington State senior outfielder Derek Jones was the player of the week and Arizona sophomore right-hander Konner Wade was the pitcher of the week. It was the third honor for Jones who is having a great season. He is currently in third place in the conference with a .407 batting average, first in slugging percentage at .791, fifth in RBI’s with 27, tied for first in homeruns with 7 and first in total bases with 72.
This was the first time Wade has ever won Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week. Wade is currently holding the opposition to a .198 batting average against him which places him third in the conference. Wade is currently in second place innings pitched with 54 and is tied for second in strikeouts with 52. Wade was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 35th round of the 2010 MLB draft.
Two Pac-12 players have made Baseball American’s Midseason All-America Team. Writer Aaron Fitt has UCLA outfielder Jeff Gelalich and Oregon State shortstop Tyler Smith on his team.
You can check out the upcoming schedule for all teams at pac-12.org.
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