PULLMAN - The Washington State Cougars won't just be facing the best team in the Pac-10 tonight. They'll be taking on the club most consider the best college baseball squad in the country.
Arizona State - which is ranked No. 1 in all four major NCAA polls - will square off with WSU tonight at 5:30 at Bailey-Brayton Field. There will also be single games on Saturday and Sunday in the Pac-10 series.
The Sun Devils, who are 27-1 overall and 5-1 in league, started the season by winning their first 24 games. Their batting order is led by Zack MacPhee (.429), Drew Maggi (.418) and Zach Wilson (.410).
The Cougars (15-10, 1-2) have had mixed results since opening the season with nine consecutive wins. They lost their first Pac-10 series to Washington 2-1 last week, with all three games decided by one run each.
Freshman Brett Jacobs is hitting a team-best .419 for the Cougars.
ASU is expected to start Seth Blair (5-0, 3.12 ERA) against WSU's Chad Arnold (3-1, 3.02).
Pac-10 standings - Arizona State 27-1, 5-1; UCLA 23-2, 2-1; Oregon State 19-6, 2-1; Washington 16-11, 2-1; California 17-10, 3-3; Stanford 13-11, 3-3; Washington State 15-10, 1-2; Arizona 20-8, 2-4; Oregon 19-10, 2-4; USC 15-14, 2-4.
