The Washington Huskies are not in the midst of one of their best seasons, but they played like they were this weekend.

The UW defeated the Ducks 6-3 Sunday afternoon, sweeping Oregon during the road trip as well as routing them 6-1 in the season series.

Prior to the series, baseball head coach Ken Knutson talked about a renewed rivalry between the UW and the Ducks, who re-started their baseball program for the first time since 1981.

“It’s going to be a bigger deal down the road,” Knutson said of the rivalry. “We beat them up pretty good this year, but some years are like that.”

Freshman Andrew Kittredge picked up the win Sunday, going seven innings, giving up three hits and one walk while striking out five batters.

“We have confidence when he’s pitching … he’s going to keep us in the ball game,” Knutson said of Kittredge. “And if we give him some runs, he’s going to win it for us.”

The Husky offense had their second productive day of the weekend, scoring six runs on eight hits, including home runs by right fielder Kyle Conley, first baseman Troy Scott and shortstop David Bentrott.

“We got out to an early lead, and it just makes it so much easier to play and gives our pitchers confidence,” Knutson said.

Though the Dawgs cruised through most of the game, the Ducks gave the Huskies a few scares in the late innings.

Washington held Oregon scoreless until the eighth inning, when UW pitcher Geoff Brown gave up three runs, including a two-run triple to UO center fielder Caleb Tommasini.

Then Oregon rallied to put two men on base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before UW closer Brian Pearl retired the final batter to pick up the save.

“It got a little bit crazy, but Pearl continued to make good pitches,” Knutson said.

Pearl struck out three Ducks while giving up two hits in his one inning of work.

Saturday’s pitching duel featured UW senior Jason Erikson against Oregon’s Erik Stavert. Erikson completed a 2-0 shutout against the Ducks for the Huskies’ second win in the series.

“He’s just getting into midseason shape right now,” Knutson said of Erikson. “He broke his ankle during the fall, [and] he missed a lot of time … he got off to a slow start, and now he’s getting a lot of nice innings for us.”

With the win, Erikson moves up to 2-4 on the season, posting a line of six hits, three walks and seven strikeouts.

The Dawgs’ offense first came alive Friday night, as the Huskies routed the Ducks 11-2.

“I think we’re playing better, and we’ve got guys who are getting more comfortable and starting to heat up at the plate,” Knutson said of the UW’s sudden offensive outburst.

UW starting pitcher Aaron West improved to 2-0, going six innings, allowing one run on five hits while issuing three walks and recording three strikeouts.

Washington benefited from three homers by a trio of Conley, Scott and left fielder Jake Rife.

The Huskies have won four straight games, tying a season-high. Knutson hopes the streak can continue.

“If we pitch like we did,” he said, “we’ll have a chance to win all the games that we play.”

Reach reporter Honsen Lin at sports@dailyuw.com.