STANFORD -- One year after failing to reach the NCAA baseball playoffs for the first time since 1993, Stanford is back in the national rankings and on the heels of Pac-10 leader Arizona State.

But the Cardinal isn't home free just yet. This weekend, Stanford (28-16-2, 10-5 Pac-10) will begin the stretch drive with a crucial home series against Cal.

Like the Cardinal, the Bears (30-15-2, 9-9) have bounced back from a mediocre season to contend for a postseason berth and emerge in the national polls.

But they face a difficult test this weekend. Stanford, ranked sixth by Baseball America, has won all five of its conference series this season, including against No. 3 Arizona State. (ASU swept now-No. 16 Cal two weekends ago).

"If you had told me the first five weekends of league we were going to win two out of three (every series), I'd have taken that in a heartbeat," Stanford coach Mark Marquess said Wednesday.

For Marquess, this season has resembled the majority of his 32 years as coach. In other words, it has been nothing like last season, when the Cardinal (28-28) recorded only its second non-winning record of the Marquess era.

"It's tough to say during the season, but we were a little short talent-wise and didn't perform well," Marquess said. "And baseball, it's all pitching, and our pitching numbers weren't very good."

Some have blamed higher admission standards for the drop in talent, but Marquess isn't among them.

"I don't think the standards

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were any tougher," he said. "I just don't think we were able to send many candidates that met the criteria they were looking for. Whereas the freshman class I have now, we got more players than the previous two years."

Although last season ended far from Stanford's ultimate goal -- a national championship -- it wasn't without purpose, the players say. They point to the fact they won nine of their final 10 games just to avoid finishing below .500.

"That was kind of a daunting task, but we pulled together at the end and made it happen," said catcher Jason Castro, now a junior. "I think that was a testament to what we can do and precursor to how this season (would go)."

The numbers this season tell an entirely different story than a year ago.

  • Castro, who is from Castro Valley, is hitting a team-best .378 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI. Last season, he hit .167 with one home run and 14 RBI while battling a nagging hand injury.

  • Cord Phelps didn't hit a home run last season. He has eight this season, along with a .335 average and 40 RBI.

  • The Cardinal's team batting average hasn't changed much -- .305 in 2007, .302 now -- but its opponents' average has fallen from .314 to .276.

  • Stanford's ERA also has dropped, from 6.01 to 4.37, and its opponents' ERA has risen from 5.65 to 6.82.

    The Cardinal is going to need good pitching to slow down Cal, which has the conference's second-best batting average (.318) and one of its top sluggers. Josh Satin, a senior, is batting .400 with 16 home runs.

    "They have a really good offensive team, and some pretty good pitchers, too," said Stanford pitcher Erik Davis, who is 7-1 with a 3.48 ERA. "Every time we play Cal it's a big deal. But I think this weekend, especially, given the implications with the Pac-10 and on a national scale because we're both ranked, I think it's going to be a real intense series."

    The Cal-Stanford series isn't the only important one among local schools this weekend. San Jose State -- which is fourth in the Western Athletic Conference, 31/2 games behind leader Fresno State -- travels to Fresno on Friday for a four-game series against the Bulldogs.

    The Spartans (26-20, 12-11 WAC) blew a 6-1, eighth-inning lead against Stanford on Sunday, losing 17-6. But they rebounded Tuesday to win at St. Mary's, 7-5.

    Santa Clara -- which is third in the West Coast Conference, 41/2 games behind leader San Diego -- plays three games at St. Mary's this weekend. The Broncos were 29-17 overall and 9-6 in the WCC entering Wednesday night's nonconference game at Pacific.

    Contact Darren Sabedra at dsabedra@mercurynews.com.