By Cuinn Huber

The Oregon Ducks baseball team (34-16, 16-11 Pac-12) is hoping to close out their final Pac-12 regular season series ever with a victory. Most recently, they defeated their biggest rivals, the Washington Huskies, two games to one in Seattle. Coming into this final series, the team has a 34-16 record and is ranked No. 23 nationwide. This series will determine whether or not they will be among the full regular season top 25. The team's Friday starter, RJ Gordon, currently has an ERA of 4.98 and 72 innings pitched. On the offense, doubles superstar Bryce Boettcher has a team-high 40 runs coming into the series.

The Washington State Cougars (21-29, 9-18 Pac-12) have so far had a disappointing season. With a current record of 21-29, the Cougars will be hoping to end their season on a good note against a ranked opponent. With a victory against Oregon State on May 4, they have proven their ability to show up when it matters.

“They’re a team that can sneak up and get you,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said.

The team will be relying on Grant Taylor and his 3.79 ERA to keep athletes like Boettcher at bay. On the batting side, Cole Cramer is hoping to keep up his impressive batting average as he and everyone else play their final-ever Pac-12 series.

The biggest factors going into this game are going to be consistency and depth within the teams. Oregon currently has three pitchers with an ERA under five, all of whom have pitched more than 60 innings. Washington State, on the other hand, has two, meaning the pitching is, at least on paper, very close with a slight Oregon advantage. In terms of hitting, Oregon has a clear advantage with six hitters with 30 runs or more compared to Washington State's three. However, this is not enough to secure a victory. Whoever wins this series will be the team that plays consistently, not erratically.

My prediction is that Oregon ends up winning this series due to the team's depth and motivation to win its final Pac-12 home series. The team has been on a tear recently, having defeated their two biggest rivals, Oregon State and Washington, in the past three weeks. Nonetheless, I do believe Washington State will win one of the games due to the 2-1 winning series habit the Ducks have displayed all season.

Final Series Prediction:

Oregon 2, Washington State 1