The Washington baseball team isn’t giving up, despite being largely non-competitive for the first half of its season.

That’s because the Pac-10 is in a down year of sorts, and four teams have a strong opportunity to gain second place in the conference standings by the end of the season, behind likely first-place team Arizona State.

Washington (23-24, 12-9 Pac-10) is one of those teams, but if the Huskies want to see postseason action, they’re going to have to do a little more than just win in remaining conference games.

So when BYU comes to town today for the final series at Husky Ballpark, it’s no surprise the Dawgs are looking for a pair of wins.

“We’re going to try to go out and play well,” said UW head coach Ken Knutson. “[BYU is] going to be offensive. It’s going to be a rough series, but we need the wins. We’ve got to be over .500 to be considered.”

Knutson said the Huskies are playing as a completely cohesive unit for the first time this season. This, along with injured players making their way back into the lineup, has caused the Dawgs to surge at exactly the right time.

This means Kyle Conley doesn’t have to be the only one producing on offense. This means the bullpen, with solid performers like Seth Haehl, Geoff Brown and Brian Pearl, can back up the starters. This means the defense is as unified as ever.

This means Washington has won eight of its last nine conference games, including sweeps of Oregon and USC.

And in their recent series against nationally ranked Oregon State, the Huskies gutted out an airtight 4-3 win Sunday to take the series and ensure they head to Arizona next weekend three games over .500 in conference play.

“Every time [Oregon State] scored, we answered it,” Knutson said. “We kept answering it. That’s what you do to keep momentum on your side.”

The goal of making the NCAA tournament is still attainable for the Huskies, and a sweep of BYU would go a long way toward proving to the selection committee that they can defeat non-conference competition.

Troy Scott, who drove in a run in Sunday’s game, is focused on the NCAA tournament.

“It’s not the teams we play; it’s just how we play baseball,” Scott said. “Everything is coming together. We know our goal, and we’re striving for it. It’s right there.”

Knutson sees something in his team members now that makes him believe they are really fighting hard to overcome their early season woes to make postseason play.

“I think they believe in each other,” Knutson said. “Everyone believes in the team. Everybody has the same desires to be good. You care about your teammates; [that’s] what makes good teams.”

Reach reporter Allen Wagner at sports@dailyuw.com.