The Husky baseball team finished off a big weekend for the program with a disappointing 8-2 loss to No. 8 Oregon State Sunday, but it still won the series over the defending national champions, thanks to a 6-2 win at Safeco Field Friday and a comeback victory Saturday.

The wins moved Washington into third in the Pac-10 standings.

“It was a good weekend for us as far as [winning the series],” coach Ken Knutson said. “We’ve just got to keep doing it.”

The Huskies (22-21, 8-7 Pac-10) started the three-game series against eighth-ranked OSU (35-11, 7-8 Pac-10) Friday night at Safeco Field in front of 10,421 fans — a new record for attendance for a Pac-10 conference game.

“It was crazy; you couldn’t hear anything on the field,” junior Matt Hague said. “The first couple of innings I was nervous. … It was just something you dream of playing in.”

On the grass usually graced by the Mariners, the Huskies used every tool they could to keep the Beavers out of the game, eventually winning 6-2.

“It was a big win,” Hague said. “We need to keep playing like we did tonight. We played good team baseball tonight.”

In what he felt was a must-win game, Knutson used a combination of four different pitchers to ensure victory.

“It was a big game, and we need to win this series,” Knutson said. “I will blow the bullpen up [Saturday] to win if I can.”

Washington’s sophomore starter Jason Erickson (3-1) picked up the win with his six innings of work, allowing one run on four hits.

“Going out there, I wasn’t that nervous; I just wanted to get the game going,” Erickson said. “I just competed, and my team played great defense behind me.”

The biggest hand on defense came from sophomore Danny Cox, who had a diving stop to end the top of the third and got Erickson out of a bases-loaded situation.

“You never know when you win the game, but he saved two runs early,” Knutson said. “He had a big night for us.”

Cox scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third when he hit a leadoff double before a single by sophomore Jake Rife drove him in. In the fourth inning, Cox scored again when he hit a triple and junior Michael Burgher drove him home.

Saturday, junior Joey Dunn’s three hits and four RBI made a big difference as the UW beat No. 8 OSU 9-6.

After scoring first, OSU extended its lead to 4-1 lead in the top of the fifth. But the Husky bats swung right back in the bottom of the fifth, using six singles and a hit batter to score five runs and take the UW’s first lead at 6-4.

A two-run single by Dunn in the sixth extended the lead, and the Huskies trotted on to win with ease.

“He had a big day, and it’s why we scored nine,” Knutson said. “You get big production out of a spot … and drive in a bunch of runs. On days you don’t score, you leave guys on base, usually.”

The Beavers struck first Sunday as they batted through their order to take a 6-0 lead in the fourth. OSU sophomore Jason Ogata’s bases-loaded double, which drove in three runs, capped the scoring rally.

In the sixth and seventh innings, OSU added individual runs to reach its final score of eight runs. The Huskies put two runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth, but could never get their bats going to mount a comeback.

Just one game ahead of the Beavers in the Pac-10 rankings, the Huskies will make a run at a playoff spot over the final three weeks of the season. After a two-game mid-week series against Portland, the UW travels to Stanford for a three-game set next weekend.

“This week is going to be critical, and I’ll probably say that again next week,” Knutson said. “We’ve got five games … we need to win a bunch of them to have a chance for postseason.”

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