UW Takes Over First Place In Pac-10
May 17, 2004
SEATTLE - The Washington baseball team will enter its final weekend of Pac-10 play alone in first place in the conference standings following Stanford's 11-2 loss Monday in Tucson.
The Huskies (32-16-1 overall, 14-7 in the Pac-10) moved a half-game ahead of the Cardinal, who earlier Monday moved back into the No. 1 spot in all three national polls after having dropped to No. 2 last week following a 2-1 series loss to the UW.
Stanford lost two of three at Arizona over the weekend (Sat.-Mon.) to fall to 39-10 overall and 12-6 in Pac-10 play, one-half game behind the Huskies. The Cardinal play host to USC and Arizona State in their final two league series of the year.
Washington takes on defending NAIA champion Lewis-Clark State (49-7) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Husky Ballpark before UCLA (29-24, 10-8) comes to Seattle for a three-game conference series this Friday through Sunday. L-C State has won 21 straight games heading into a Monday night game vs. Gonzaga. The Warriors have won 13 of the last 20 NAIA crowns. UCLA took two of three from Washington State last weekend in Los Angeles and are tied for third in the Pac-10 alongside Arizona State.
The Huskies' next win will be the 422nd of head coach Ken Knutson's career. That win would tie the UW record for wins, held by Knutson's mentor, Bob MacDonald, who went 422-322-7 as the Husky head coach from 1977 to 1992. Knutson, in his 12th season in charge of his alma mater, enters the week 421-269-2.
After taking two from Portland and two of three from USC last week, the Huskies moved up one spot to No. 14 in today's Baseball America top 25 while retaining their No. 13 ranking in the Collegiate Baseball ranking and their No. 21 position in the Sports Weekly/ESPN coaches' poll.
After the UCLA series, the Huskies will host UC Irvine in a non-conference series May 28-30. All of the eight other Pac-10 teams will play conference series that weekend.
Current Pac-10 Baseball Standings
(through Monday, May 17)
Pac-10 GB Overall
Washington 14-7 -- 32-16-1
Stanford 12-6 0.5 39-10
Arizona State 10-8 2.5 35-13
UCLA 10-8 2.5 29-24
Arizona 9-9 3.5 27-21-1
USC 8-10 4.5 22-27
Oregon State 7-11 5.5 27-18
California 8-13 6.0 24-29
Washington State 6-12 6.5 26-22
