HONOLULU – Despite a four-run comeback, the University of Hawai'i baseball team (26-19, 8-10 BWC) rally fell short in the UC Irvine (19-30, 6-12 BWC) finale, dropping the series on an eventful Monday night at Les Murakami Stadium.

It was a shaky start for the Rainbow Warriors, as a walk and two singles set the table in the second inning, and UC Irvine would convert three hits and two UH errors into a 4-0 advantage just three half-frames into Monday's series finale contest.
 
Things got a little tougher for the 'Bows after Josh Rojas was ejected following a slide-back out call, and head coach Mike Trapasso joined him after debating the call. The play effectively ended a rally push by Hawai'i with runners aboard in the bottom of the second.
 
The Anteaters added a sacrifice fly run in the top of the fourth, but the 'Bows countered this time, ending the shutout with Dustin Demeter scoring on an Eric Ramirez RBI single. However, between innings, Ramirez was ejected as well.
 
Things started to look up offensively for the 'Bows in the following frame, as right fielder Alex Fitchett sparked Hawai'i with a full count leadoff single. Designated hitter Logan Pouelsen moved him into position with a second-pitch double. Both went on to score on consecutive RBI groundouts from Johnny Weeks and Dylan Vchulek.
 
Hawai'i chipped off another run in the sixth, converting a Kekai Rios leadoff walk on a Marcus Doi sacrifice fly, trimming the Anteaters' lead to a single run at 5-4.
 
After giving up the big-scoring second, starter Jackson Rees hung in there, allowing only a single run across the next five innings. Rees reached 115 pitches through 7.0 innings before handing off to first Casey Ryan, then Dylan Thomas – both who kept the Anteaters off the board.
 
However, the offense never got back on track after the sixth, as the tie run was left on first base in both the final two frames of Monday's 5-4 finale loss to UC Irvine.
 
Rees (5-1) took the loss, giving five runs (only two earned) through seven innings. UCI starter, Cole Spear (4-4) made it only 5.0 innings before yielding to the bullpen in the win, allowing four runs on six hits.
 
Fogel hit 2-for-3 to pace the 'Bows, while Demeter was 2-for-4. Although Vchulek had an RBI in Monday night's game, he did not safely reach base, snapping his NCAA second-best streak at 44 games.
 
The Rainbow Warriors have a short turnaround, heading out to face Big West frontrunner Long Beach State next weekend at Blair Field. The Dirtbags (32-16-1, 15-3 Big West) are ranked as high as 10th this week and earned a 2-1 series win at Minnesota over the weekend.