After struggling to find good at bats and a consistent pitching attack against BYU, the Husky baseball team came back in a big way, sweeping UC Riverside in a three-game set at Husky Ballpark.

The series was punctuated in thrilling fashion as the Huskies battled and won the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Washington (19-15) and the Highlanders (21-15) were knotted at five and the Huskies had two men on base. Senior Curt Rindal stepped to the plate and hit a ground ball through the gap between the shortstop and third to bring home Jake Rife to win the game 6-5.

"It's always a great feeling to knock in that game winning run, that's for sure," Rindal said. "I was just trying to fight there with two strikes. He hung one up and I did what I did with it.

"[The sweep] is huge to get us back on track," Rindal said. "We're pitching like we used to. We're hitting it, having good at bats."

In Friday's game, the Huskies faced Riverside pitcher James Simmons, who came into the game with some of the most dominant pitching numbers in the nation — a 1.81 ERA and seven wins.

The Huskies quickly began to pick apart Simmons when Ty Rasmussen hit a three-run homer in the first inning. The Huskies scored seven runs (four unearned) on nine hits over the first five innings before Simmons was finally relieved.

Three Huskies, freshman Rasmussen, junior Matt Hague and Rindal, all had home runs in the 8-3 win.

Along with his team-leading eight homers, Rindal continued to play his pivotal role as the team's slugger over the weekend.

"I'm just seeing it real[ly] well right now," Rindal said. "I'm just taking my time for everything. I'm geared up for this part of the season."

In the 12-6 Husky win Saturday, Rindal drove in five runs, as he went 3-4 at the plate.

Juniors Michael Burgher and Joey Dunn both went 2-3 at the plate on Saturday. Dunn had three RBI and hit his third home run of the season, while Burgher scored three runs and had three stolen bases.

After trailing by as much as three runs, the Huskies knotted the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to two sacrifice flies from sophomores Brett Kaluza and Danny Cox, which scored Dunn and Rasmussen.

Junior Nick Hagadone earned the win with his 4.2 innings of relief work, where he allowed one run on six hits and struck out five.

"Once we got the tie game, I just made sure they didn't score again," Hagadone said. "I love it — just being out there and knowing that if I give up a run the game is over or we might lose."

Coach Ken Knutson said that he was excited about what his team did over the weekend.

"It was great, we played really well, kept coming back and took advantage of our opportunities," Knutson said. "I think the big thing is we just kept fighting. We got behind in a couple of the games, [but] it didn't seem to phase us at all."

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