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College: Nine Questions Leading Into Week 2 of Pac-12 Play

Taylor McQuillin of Arizona will try to lead the Cats back to the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2010. Photo: Jacquie Harbour / Arizona Athletics

Opening week of Pac-12 conference play went mostly as expected.

Arizona State took a series win over Oregon State in Tempe, dropping a single game of the three-game series against the Beavers; Arizona swept by Oregon, earning a pair of run-rule wins in taking home that series; Utah picked up the series win over Cal, losing only the series finale in extra innings.

UCLA, however, pulled off what may have been the biggest surprise of the week, facing Washington in Seattle and taking home the win in all three games of the teams’ conference series.

As week two of Pac-12 play continues this week, we take a look at some pressing questions for each team in the sport’s most historically-great conference.

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UCLA: Will the Bruins’ pitching depth be the x-factor this season?

Many were caught by surprise by the Bruins’ premature elimination in the WCWS semifinals last season, as the Bruins entered the series as the odds-on favorites to win the national championship. Rachel Garcia, as great as she is, shouldered the lion’s share of the workload in the circle, and ultimately gave out in a pair of games against Florida State that ultimately sent the Bruins packing.

Megan Faraimo has been a great addition to UCLA’s pitching depth. Photo: Jasmine Sosa / UCLA Softball.

The difference in last year’s UCLA squad with the group representing the Bruins this year is the depth in the circle. Garcia remains the undisputed ace of the staff, but freshman Megan Faraimo has impressed and been of quality, holding a 1.29 ERA on the year, with multiple no-hitters to her credit in the pre-conference portion of the season.

Holly Azevedo owns a 2.44 ERA on the year, as well, and the pitching staff already has 232 strikeouts on the season. The Bruins’ quality depth in the circle could be a game-changer, both in conference play and during the postseason.

Washington: Can the Huskies rebound from the UCLA sweep and remain among the ranks of the nation’s elite?

Despite UCLA’s impressiveness early in the year, it was something of a surprise to see the Huskies fall in all three games of their series against the Bruins. The final game of the series ended in a 15-6 run-rule victory for UCLA, who put 22 runs on the Huskies through the course of the three games, allowing just eight and shutting out the Huskies in the series opener.

Madison Huskey: 3 RBI performance.

Still a quality team despite their shortcomings to open league play, it is imperative that Washington rebound swiftly and surely, looking like the team that fans were used to seeing in the early parts of the year.

The Huskies did get a stellar performance from Madison Huskey in the series finale, as the freshman and first-year starter went 2-2 with a home run and run-scoring single, collecting three RBI.

Arizona: Is 2019 the year that the Wildcats will be able to finish the job?


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