After three weeks of Pac-10 play, the Husky baseball team will take a short break from conference to play six non-conference games over the next eight days.

To start off the baseball marathon, Washington faces Brigham Young for a two-game series in Provo, Utah.

“I remember playing them last year,” junior Matt Hague said. “They’re a pretty good squad; they had a good arm on the mound. I heard they have a new stadium so I think it will be fun.”

The Huskies (16-13) come into the games after losing two of three games to UCLA over the past weekend. But the team did win the third game of that series 9-4 behind home runs from junior Hague and freshman Ty Rasmussen.

“We’re just going to try to improve,” coach Ken Knutson said after the UCLA game. “We just need to see [the ball] and make little plays that we are supposed to.”

BYU (19-13) enters the game as the third-ranked team in the Mountain West Conference and just swept UNLV over the weekend.

The Washington offense has a number of different hitters batting in runs lately. Sophomore Michael Burgher leads the team in on-base-percentage (.474), ranks third in average (.333) and reached base all five times he came to the plate on Saturday.

Hague took advantage of UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium — known as a hitters’ park — and contributed a big three-run homer on Saturday to put the game out of reach for the Bruins.

“I was just trying to get some RBI for the team,” Hague said. “We were trying to extend the game, and I finally got a good swing on the ball.”

Hague currently ranks third on the team for RBI with 17.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Nick Haughian will start Tuesday’s game. Haughian (3-3, 4.91 ERA) struggled in his last start against UCLA Thursday, as he hit four batters in the first 1.1 innings, before Knutson gave the ball to junior Jason Erickson. The Huskies eventually lost 6-5.

Another southpaw, Tyler Cheney, will take the mound to start Wednesday. Cheney (1-2, 5.04 ERA), who did not pitch against UCLA, last saw action against ASU and gave up five runs over three innings of work.

Nick Hagadone has pitched lights out from the bullpen recently. With his 3-1 record and 2.00 ERA, he has been a pitcher Knutson can depend on in tight spots. This shows in his team-leading six saves and his recent performances against UCLA and ASU.

Heading into the game Hague said the team just needs to play “Husky baseball” consistently.

“I don’t know much about them (BYU), but you got to head into the game like you want to win, and you’re going to play hard to win,” Hague said. “I think you got to have that mentality before each game.”

Despite some ups and downs in Pac-10 play, Hague said he thinks his team can pull through.

“We just got to do what we know how to do,” Hague said.

With that in mind, the Huskies will be looking to play to their potential against BYU.

Reach reporter James Schleicher at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.