The Arizona baseball team was tabbed to finish third in the Pacific 10 Conference Preseason Coaches Poll Friday.

The poll was one of the closest since the Pac-10 merged the Northern and Southern divisions in 1999. Stanford was picked to win the conference with four first-place votes, with Washington finishing right behind the Cardinal with two first-place votes.

The Wildcats tied with ASU with 51 points for third place, with the Sun Devils receiving two first-place votes and the UA getting one.

Stanford is coming off back-to-back Pac-10 Championships and enters the year ranked in the Top 25.

The No. 12 Wildcats played in the College World Series last season, the team's first trip to Omaha, Neb., since winning the title in 1986.

Arizona opens its season with the Alumni Game Jan. 30 and begins regular season games Feb. 4 when it hosts New Mexico.