Two of the top three teams in the Pac-12, No. 22 UCLA and No. 2 Oregon State, meet in the final weekend of regular season play.
Could there be a late change at the top of the Pac-12 standings before the conference tournament begins? This weekend’s series between No. 22 UCLA and No. 2 Oregon State, which begins on Thursday, could have such consequences.
How to Watch UCLA vs. Oregon State in College Baseball Today:
Game Date: May 19, 2022
Game Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
TV: Pac-12 Los Angeles
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The Beavers come into this series in first place at 19-8 in conference play. They’d won 11 of their last 12 conference games heading into last weekend before dropping two of three against Arizona.
Meanwhile, the Bruins put themselves in a great position last weekend, sweeping Washington State. Those three wins improved their Pac-12 record to 17-10.
If UCLA can take at least two games this weekend, it could be enough through the tiebreaker to move to the top of the standings. The other team at play here is Stanford, which sits in second place at 18-9 and takes on USC this weekend.
As the Beavers look to fend off the Bruins and Cardinal for the top seed, they’ll lean on their star power. At the plate, junior utility player Jacob Melton is having a monster year. He leads the team in all three triple crown categories with a .372 batting average, 19 home runs and 66 RBIs. His batting average and runs driven in also rank first in the Pac-12 while he’s second in home runs.
On the mound, sophomore lefty Cooper Hjerpe has been the series opener this season and will get the start Thursday night. Hjerpe is 9-1 in 13 starts this year, leading the Pac-12 in wins and strikeouts, with 125 K’s. His 2.42 ERA ranks second among qualifying pitchers.
Can Hjerpe, Melton, and the rest of the Beavers close the season strong? Tune into Pac-12 Los Angeles Thursday night, as the series gets started at 9 p.m. ET.
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