Look, Washington’s road win against San Francisco isn’t going to be something that makes or breaks this college baseball season, but Eddie Smith and the Huskies desperately needed to get something positive after four straight losses at the hand of the Stanford Cardinal.
And thankfully, that’s just what happened on Wednesday as the Huskies handed the San Francisco Dons a defeat. The midweek win doesn’t bump the Huskies up in the Big Ten baseball standings, UW is still pretty low down on the list, but every little thing helps in the first year of a new coaching era, so we’ll take what we can get, right?
There’s still plenty of work to be done and there’s also still plenty of season left. So wins certainly help. You know, they’re also definitely better than losses. A midweek loss to San Francisco would have been, uh, dreadful.
So, let’s enjoy the little things in life a little bit, shall we?
Big Ten baseball standings, February 27: UCLA’s loss to Arizona State creates a little separation near the top for the USC Trojans
Here’s what the Big Ten baseball standings look like today
- Purdue Boilermakers: 8-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- USC Trojans: 7-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Michigan State Spartans: 6-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Penn State Nittany Lions: 5-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- UCLA Bruins: 7-2 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Oregon Ducks: 6-2 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Illinois Fighting Illini: 5-2 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Northwestern Wildcats: 5-2 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Michigan Wolverines: 4-3 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Iowa Hawkeyes: 3-3 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 4-4 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Maryland Terrapins: 3-4 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Nebraska Cornhuskers: 3-4 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Indiana Hoosiers: 3-5 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Minnesota Golden Gophers: 2-4 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Washington Huskies: 3-6 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
- Ohio State Buckeyes: 1-5 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
The UCLA Bruins were one tied with their crosstown rival for holding that No. 2 spot in the Big Ten, but a loss against Arizona State dinged them a bit and dropped them down a smidge. Purdue still holds the top spot with their perfect 8-0 record. USC sits at 7-1, Michigan State is at No. 3 with a 6-1 record, and Penn State claims the No. 4 spot at 5-1. Then there’s UCLA at 7-2.
Oregon at 6-2, Illinois at 5-2, and Northwestern at 5-2 comprise the upper middle class of the Big Ten baseball scene right now. And after the Ducks, Fighting Illini, and Wildcats come a bunch of teams with unimpressive records so far.
There’s still plenty of time for Smith and the Huskies to get some wins and bolster their record and subsequent standing in the Big Ten. Thankfully, this isn’t a sport that this conference really emphasizes or thrives in, so there’s room for growth and improvement for UW.