Top Dawgs?

  • By John Sleeper / Herald Writer
  • Thursday, May 20, 2004 9:00pm
  • Sports

SEATTLE – Brent Lillibridge is a straight talker, rarely given to overstatement or cockiness.

So when the University of Washington sophomore shortstop and leadoff hitter blurts out that the Huskies think they can win every time out, he’s not blowing smoke.

“We’re really disappointed if we lose,” said Lillibridge, a former Jackson High School standout. “The mentality right now is, ‘How in the world can we lose?’ I think that’s a big thing.”

It is a big thing, considering the position the Huskies are in now, going into the last three-game series of the Pacific-10 Conference, which begins at 6:30 p.m. today against UCLA in Husky Ballpark. Washington and UCLA also play at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Sweep the Bruins and 13th-ranked Washington (14-7 in conference play, 33-16-1 overall) forces top-ranked Stanford (12-6, 39-10) to sweep its two remaining series, against USC and red-hot Arizona State in order to overtake the Huskies for the conference championship.

“We can put ourselves in a position to where Stanford can’t breathe,” Lillibridge said.

In a season as wild as the Pac-10 has ever seen, Washington is in this spot primarily because of its remarkable consistency. The Huskies have won all but one three-game series in conference play (the lone series loss came to Washington State). Washington’s success includes a 2-1 series victory against mighty Stanford May 7-9 at Husky Ballpark.

“It was a big series for us,” UW junior first baseman Kyle Larsen said. “To win the Pac-10 you have to win pretty much every series. We had them right there last year and we lost it on a walk-off home run. We just played a great, great weekend. It was just huge.”

Washington needed the series victory to keep pace with and, later, pass Stanford.

The conference, this season more than ever, is a balanced, rugged lot in which fifth-place Arizona is just 31/2 games behind the Huskies. No series has been a cakewalk. Of all conference opponents Washington swept only Arizona.

“The bottom of the conference is a lot better than it has been,” said UW head coach Ken Knutson, who won the 423rd game of his career Tuesday to tie Bob McDonald’s career record for most victories in school history.

“The Cougars have improved a bunch. Oregon State has had a really good year. UCLA has played really well lately. It’s just been wide open.”

The biggest series, however, will be against the Bruins (10-8, 29-24).

The Huskies not only are playing for the Pac-10 crown, but also for a high seeding in the 16 four-team NCAA regionals June 4-6.

Washington could bag a No. 1 seed. If so, the Huskies likely will be sent to the Midwest, East or South, to a site where the host team will be the No. 2 seed. Probably only Stanford and Long Beach State, which have parks approved for regional play, will host regionals in the West. Both likely will be No. 1 seeds.

West Coast ballparks simply don’t play into a team such as Washington, a power team that eats up small venues.

“A one seed, nationally, is going to get us into a good place to play,” Knutson said. “I’d like to go where you have a chance to play in front of a big crowd, where it’s a big deal for the kids.”

Run production has been huge for Washington. Seven players have 31 or more runs batted in, led by third baseman John Otness with 46. Outfielder Zach Clem leads the team with 12 home runs, followed by Larsen, with 10. Lillibridge has nine homers, 34 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

The surprise has been freshman pitcher Tim Lincecum (8-2, 3.67 earned-run average, 134 strikeouts in 902/3 innings).

“Our success isn’t because two guys are going crazy,” Knutson said. “The thing that’s weird is that at times, we’ve won a lot of games where we haven’t played particularly well. We walk nine guys and give up one run. We’ve done that a bunch. That’s power arms that are young and freshman brains leading to that stuff. We can get into trouble and work our way out of it.

“Mentally, it’s a pretty resilient bunch of guys.”

Whether that leads to the NCAA Super Regionals June 11-13 or even the College World Series, starting June 18, remains to be seen.

But as far as the Huskies are concerned, any loss from here on in is an upset.

“We wouldn’t mind taking Stanford out really quick,” Larsen said.

Now THAT’S confidence.

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