SEATTLE, Wash. --- The Washington Huskies scored twice in the bottom of the eighth inning to top the Portland Pilots 11-10 in a non-conference baseball game Tuesday night at Husky Ballpark. All nine Portland starters got a hit as the Pilots, who also hit three home runs, totaled 12 hits for the game. The loss drops the Pilots to 10-18 overall (0-3, WCC), while UW improves to 21-11 (3-3, Pac-10).

With one out and the game tied 9-9 in the top of the eighth inning, UP freshman Sean Nicol scored when Washington center fielder Matt Hague dropped a Paul Crowder fly ball. Husky reliever Elliott Cribby then got sophomore Danny Meier to strike out and junior Adam Kerr to pop out, ending the inning and the threat.

In the bottom of the eighth, Portland reliever Brian Yoakum got Trevor Peterson to lead off the inning with a fly out to center. UP reliever Austin Dirkx then took the mound after Danny Cox reached on an infield single. Dirkx struck out Kyle Conley looking, before Ryan Anderson singled up the middle making it runners on first and second with two outs. Hague then knocked in the tying run with a single to right-center field. Anderson also scored on the play, after the ball was misplayed by UP center fielder Justin Ehlers. Dirkx (1-3) was saddled with his third loss of the season.

Cribby (4-2) picked up the win for Washington, while Tim Lincecum retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.

UW used six pitchers in the game. Portland countered with four.

The Pilots took an early lead as Nicol led off the game with a solo home run to left field, extending his hitting streak to 10 games.

Portland added three more in the second to take the early 4-0 lead. With two outs, Ehlers knocked in a run by following sophomore Cory Wiltshire’s triple with a double. Ehlers, who had advanced to third on a passed ball, then scored on a throwing error by the shortstop. A few batters later with runners on the corners, Meier knocked in a run with a single to left. Two of the three runs were unearned.

Trailing 4-1 in the fourth inning, the Huskies put up four to take a 5-4 lead. Zach Clem and Trevor Peterson each had a two-run home run during the inning.

The UW lead was short-lived as the Pilots put up four runs of their own in the top of the fifth. Portland again did all of the damage with two outs. Two scored, one earned and the other on an error by the center fielder, on an RBI single by senior Travis Vetters. Junior Jesse Rodgers followed Vetters with a two-run blast that cleared the right field wall, making it 8-5.

The Huskies answered with two solo home runs, from Hague and Matt Lane, in the bottom half of the inning to make the score 8-7.

Meier answered with his team-leading fifth home run of the season in the top of the sixth. Meier’s solo blast to center field made it a 9-7 Portland lead.

The UW homer parade wasn’t finished. After scoring a run on an RBI ground out by Lane in the bottom of the seventh, Clem hit his third home run of the game. The solo shot tied the game at 9-9.

Nicol finished 2-for-5 with three runs and an RBI. Meier was 2-for-5 with 2 RBI’s and a run, while Vetters went 2-for-5 with an RBI and one run scored.

Both teams committed three errors.

The Pilots return to WCC play with a three-game series against San Diego at Joe Etzel Field this weekend. The Pilots and Toreros play at 3 p.m. on Friday and at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.