The UCLA and USC baseball teams are down to the most important part of their seasons.

Both need to win five of their last six Pac-12 games to make the NCAA playoffs.

The Trojans are at .500 in the Pac-12, 12-12. The Bruins are 11-13. Their season records almost are identical, 24-25 for SC, 24-26 for UCLA.

The good news is the rest of the conference is in the same boat.

“We are fighting for our playoff lives,” said UCLA Coach John Savage.

“It’s a six-game season. Lots of teams are fighting to get in.”

First-place Utah is 15-9, and USC is tied with Oregon for fourth. UCLA is tied with four teams for sixth place.

Savage said pitching and defense will decide the races.

“We need to come up with offensive production if we expect to win,” he added.

The Bruins will host Arizona State Friday at 6, Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 3.

They finish their regular season with a three-game series at Oregon State next weekend.

The Trojans will start their three game home stand against Oregon State tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday the first pitch will be at 12 p.m. They finish their regular season with a three game season on the road against Arizona State next weekend.

Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com