Baseball Apple Cup looms, postseason in mind

If there was ever a time to make a play for the postseason, this might be it for the UW baseball team.

The Huskies (29-16, 8-7 Pac-10) are heading into the home stretch of Pac-10 play this weekend in the Apple Cup of baseball against Washington State (26-20, 5-10 Pac-10), and they are in a position to make a major ripple in the conference.

To UW coach Ken Knutson, this weekend’s games are more than just a rivalry series­ ­­— it’s a chance for the team to get an important win.

“We have three weekends left, and if we play well and take care of business, we can play our way in,” he said.

After sweeping USC last weekend, the Dawgs placed third in the conference, while also garnering their first national ranking.

Washington will look to continue pushing runs across the plate this weekend, with Pac-10 Player of the Week Kyle Conley and outfielder Andy Lentz, who is batting a whopping .481 in Pac-10 play, highlighting the offense. The Dawgs have scored 49 runs in their last five games (a five-game winning streak) and has pitched well throughout.

Knutson said the Cougars are an offensive team, so starting pitchers Jorden Merry, Cam Nobles and Nick Haughian will need to maintain solid work and the bullpen will need to hold any leads.

Starting pitching has been superb all season, but until the USC series the Husky bullpen struggled to find its way. With the season winding down, fewer opportunities will be available to make up losses.

“We have to pitch well,” Knutson said. “They’re very offensive, so if we can keep them down, we’ll have a chance to win each game.”

But with intrastate rivalry and possible postseason play on the team’s mind, the Huskies probably won’t want to exaggerate this series or get too caught up in the possibilities.

“We just have to approach it like any other series and not worry about them,” Knutson said.

If the Huskies keep doing what they have been doing, the team could be in a position they haven’t been in since 2004 –—playing in the NCAA Regional.