It is nearly impossible to follow Pac-12 baseball and not place major implications on the four games played between Oregon and Oregon State in mid-May. The two teams are at the top of the conference, and most polls have them both ranked in the top 10 nationally, with Oregon State usually just a few spots above Oregon.

Over the past three years, every series between the two has resulted in a sweep, with Oregon State taking two of the three series. If history repeats itself, one team would likely be able to separate from the other enough to not only win the conference, but pick up one of the top eight national seeds and thus earn the right to host a regional and super regional in June.

Oregon seems to be on a roll, winning six of their last seven going into the weekend. The Ducks played Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday, winning one of two, and are headed into a weekend series against a sub-par Washington State team. Even if Oregon does roll into the Civil War series red hot, Oregon State will be no pushover.

In fact, the teams are pretty similar statistically, with Oregon State generally taking a slight edge in most categories. Oregon State bats .286 compared to Oregon’s .267 and has driven in 239, while Oregon has scored 236 runs.

Oregon generally holds an edge on the mound, boasting three quality starters, a strong bullpen and an All-American closer, but Oregon State also has the edge in ERA, leading the Pac-12 at 2.02 while Oregon comes in third at 2.81.

One category where Oregon far exceeds Oregon State — and the rest of the country for the majority of the season — is defense. The gaudy .988 fielding percentage that Oregon held has been bumped down to .979 after error-filled games against UCLA and Portland and Seattle, but they still rank eighth in the country while Oregon State is 67th.

Oregon is fortunate to get the series at home as the home team has won every series between the two since the resurgence of the Oregon baseball program in 2009. Aside from that, they are an impressive 19-5 in the expansive PK Park and give up only two-and-a-half runs per game.

At some point though, weighing their statistical achievements against each other resembles splitting hairs; both are contenders to go to Omaha, Neb. None of that will matter when the two teams meet. They will have three games to prove who deserves the conference and likely who deserves to host regional play.