After losing six of their last eight games, the Husky baseball team will take on UC Riverside in a three-game series at Husky Ballpark this weekend. Washington will try to get back on track before it continues on with Pac-10 play.

“It’s been tough lately, but we swung it well [Wednesday], and we’re moving in the right direction,” senior Curt Rindal said. “We’re going to come out this weekend and fight for some wins.”

The Huskies (16-15) come into the game just off being swept at BYU earlier this week. The Huskies struggled to put the bat on the ball Tuesday, as they lost 8-3. When they played Wednesday, the hitters put up runs, but the defense could not contain the Cougars in the 15-9 loss.

The Highlanders (21-12) come into the series after completing a two-game sweep of No. 21 San Diego to start the week. They came back Tuesday from a 6-2 deficit to beat USD 8-7.

Figuring how to gets hits off one of the most dominant pitchers in the nation will be the Huskies’ first order of business. UC Riverside will have junior James Simmons on the mound Friday. Simmons has a 1.81 ERA and a 7-1 record.

“You can’t go in there thinking he’s the best pitcher in the nation,” junior Michael Burgher said. “You have got to go in there with confidence thinking you have the best offense in the nation.”

Coach Ken Knutson said that, against this pitcher, his lineup need to be aggressive.

“You can’t be tentative. He will carve you up,” Knutson said. “He doesn’t walk people. He’s a strike thrower. So we just got to get our swings in and hopefully it will be enough”

Knutson will have starting sophomore Jorden Merry (5-1) on the mound to try to slow down the Highlander bats.

While the Husky bats started to gain some momentum Wednesday, the defense struggled, as they had four errors that led to eight unearned runs.

“We got on some dirt infields, but that’s no excuse,” Rindal said. “We’re working on it, but being back on turf and being used to our park and how it plays should help.”

After winning 14 of 17 games in March, the Huskies have struggled in the first couple of weeks of April, but they hope to turn that around before they face USC to resume Pac-10 play next weekend.

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