Last week, UCLA was tied for first place in the Pac-12. Now they are a game back of Arizona, but they are facing what appears to be their last really tough series of the conference season. If they can manage to get past Stanford this weekend then they have a real shot at making a run at the conference crown. Getting past the Cardinal won't be easy, though. They remain the most talented team in the conference and really picked up the offense last week.

Adam Plutko will be on the mound for UCLA, with his 5-2 record and 2.98 ERA. He was sensational last weekend in 7.2 shutout innings that saw him carry a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He'll have to be very good tonight too because he's going up against the possible number one pick in the MLB Draft, Mark Appel, who is 5-1 with a 2.88 ERA on the year.

If you're sitting at home and not out at the ballpark then listen in with John Ramey and Tim Wilhelm, who will have the call online. You can also get all the game updates, notes, observations and all the other goodies from my UCLA baseball twitter. This is your open thread as the Bruins try to move closer to first place in the Pac-12 so share updates as well as your thoughts and reactions here.