SALT LAKE CITY - The scenario is simple this weekend in Salt Lake City between No. 15 Washington (31-19, 16-11 Pac-12) and host Utah (23-26, 17-10): the first team to win twice will be crowned the 2016 Pac-12 Champion.

After 27 conference games, it comes down to the final series between a pair of teams that were picked towards the bottom of the Pac-12 by the league's coaches. UW was picked eighth in the pre-season poll, while Utah was picked last at 11th.



In a tight-knit race, the Huskies and Utes have separated themselves from the rest of the contenders. The Huskies enter the final weekend of play one game behind Utah in second place and they have a game lead over third-place Arizona State. There is a scenario where all three teams could be tied at the end of the season and share the conference title (ASU would need to sweep and the Huskies would need to win two-of-three games), but Washington and Utah both won the regular-season series against ASU, making the winner of this weekend's series at Smith Field in Salt Lake City the recipient of the league's automatic NCAA berth.



And in Utah's case, they must win the series this weekend to even be considered for the NCAAs. At three-games under .500 overall, they will not be able to reach the NCAA minimum standard of finishing above .500 to receive an at-large berth.



No matter who wins the series this weekend, there will be historic ramifications. The Huskies have not won a league crown since the Pac-12 North and South merged in 1999. Washington has won 18 conference championships, but they are vying for their first since 1998. In the other dugout, Utah has not won a Pac-12 title in its short four-year history as a conference member.

While Utah will know for sure if its in or out by Sunday evening (and possibly Saturday), if the Huskies do not win the series, the fate of their post-season hopes will lie in the NCAA Committee's hands. The Huskies enter the weekend with an impressive 12-2-1 record in season series, but with a RPI of 53 and Utah hovering just outside the top-100, nothing is certain when it comes to the post-season.



All three games this weekend, starting with Friday's series opener have a first pitch start time of 11:00 a.m. PT and will be carried by the Pac-12 Network with Thad Anderson and Dean Stotz on the call. Constant updates are also available via Twitter: @UW_Baseball. Live stats can be found at www.uw.statbroadcast.com.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UTAH:

Washington leads Utah in the overall series, 11-6, and has been even better since the Utes joined the Pac-12 in 2012 holding a 10-2 advantage. UW has won the last 8 games in the series, including a three-game sweep in Seattle in 2015. The Huskies closed out the 2015 season with a 1-0 win over the Utes on May 24, thanks to an Austin Rei eighth inning home run. When the Huskies swept in Salt Lake City during 2014, they outscored Utah, 40-22, including a wild 21-17 victory in the series finale.



LOCAL CONNECTION:

Washington junior first baseman/designated hitter Gage Matuszak has very strong ties to the state of Utah. The lefty is from Sandy, Utah and played his high school ball for Brighton HS. After graduating he spent the first two years of his college career at Utah. He redshirt as a freshman in 2013 and then did not play for the Utes in 2014 due to an injury. After a season at Feather River Community College, Matuszak is in his first season at Washington. He is hitting .263 with five home runs and 15 RBI,

BY THE NUMBERS:

• The Huskies have won the conference title 18 times in their history. Perhaps 18 is a lucky number for the Huskies because it has been 18 years since their last conference crown. The Huskies earned back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1997 when they won the Pac-10 North and then beat Stanford (both times) in the North-South playoff championship.

• Washington is poised for its 10th post-season berth. They have made regional appearances in 2014, 2004, 2003, 2002, 1998, 1997, 1994, 1992 and 1959.

• UW is 12-2-1 in series this season. The Huskies have not swept a series so they have had to come up clutch in rubber matches, going 8-0 in series-deciding games.

• The Huskies are ranked for the fifth-straight week in the Collegiate Baseball News poll and are 15th this week. They are also ranked 21st D1Baseball.com.

• Player of the Week Honors: Chris Baker was named Pac-12 POW after 10 hits in 17 AB's in 4 games last week. It was the second time a Husky has earned the weekly honor as pitcher Ryan Schmitten won May 9.

• Dick Howser Award Semifinalist: Troy Rallings was named a semifinalist for the award by the NCBWA. The senior is 2nd nationally with a 0.89 ERA and is tied for 2nd with 16 saves.

• No Bull: The Huskies' bullpen is 21-8 with a 2.51 ERA this year. In 232.2 innings, they have struck out 198 batters and held opponents to a .207 average. They have 21 saves, third most in UW single-season history.

POSSIBLE STARTERS:

Here's a look at the possible starters at each position, with 2016 stats and notes:

Pos. Player, Year Avg.-HR-RBI Notes

C – Joey Morgan, So. .276-4-23 Reached base in 39 of 44 starts; team high 12 doubles; multi-hits 11 times

1B – John Naff, Jr. .288-4-19 .355 on the road; reached base in 17 of last 18 games; 11th in Pac-12 with .413 on base%

2B – Levi Jordan, So. .310-1-22 .357 in May (15x42, HR, 8 RBI; 1st in Pac-12 with 146 assists; .352 in Pac-12 play

SS – AJ Graffanino, Fr. .240-0-12 Leads UW freshmen with 40 starts; father, Tony, 12-yr MLB career; 26th Rd pick - CLE

3B – Chris Baker, Jr. .321-7-32 .391 (18x46, 2B, 2 3B, HR, 8 RBI in May; Pac-12 POW 5/13; 8x13 (.615) vs. Stanford

OF – KJ Brady, So. .303-0-10 Reached safely in 24 of 26 starts; has reached safely in 15-straight games (18x48, .375)

OF – MJ Hubbs, Jr. .257-4-24 Reached safely in 42 of 49 gms; 12 multi-hits; tied for 7th in Pac-12 with 38 runs

OF – Jack Meggs, Jr. .286-1-18 Nat'l leader with 21 sac bunts; 61-straight starts; 2nd on team with 18 multi-hit games

DH – Duncan Hendrickson, Sr. .302-0-6 Reached base in 14 of 16 starts; UW Dean's list 7 times; hitting .321 in Pac-12 play

RHP – Noah Bremer, So. 4-5, 3.07 6th in Pac-12 IP (88.0), 4th K's looking (23); 2 or less ER in 22 of 29 starts

RHP – Joe DeMers, Fr. 3-4, 6.21 2015 California Gatorade HS Player of the Year; 3 time Team USA gold medalist