SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Hawai'i baseball team was unable to complete the series sweep at UC Santa Barbara Sunday afternoon, falling 5-1 in the weekend finale at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
 
Despite the loss, the Rainbow Warriors (12-10, 3-6 Big West) still secured a significant road series victory after taking the first two games from the Gauchos, marking their first road series win over UCSB since 2014.
 
The Hawai'i bats were kept in check by a trio of Gaucho pitchers, as UH left eight runners on base and finishing 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The Gauchos jumped out to an early lead in the first inning on an RBI groundout and extended the cushion to 3-0 in the third on a Jonathan Mendez two-run single. Mendez added another run on an infield hit in the fifth to make it 4-0.
 
The 'Bows finally broke through in the top of the sixth when Gabe Wright singled and later scored on an RBI single to center field by Ben Zeigler-Namoa, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
 
The Rainbow Warriors' comeback hopes were stifled by UCSB reliever Van Froling, who struck out six batters over the final 3.2 innings to earn the save. Tate Shimao provided a late spark for UH, finishing the day 3-for-4 with two doubles, including a two-out ground-rule double in the ninth, but the rally ended there.
 
The Hawai'i bullpen kept UH in it into the later innings, as Grant Garman, Tsubasa Tomii and Saul Soto combined to work the final 2.2 innings without allowing an earned run.
 
The Rainbow Warriors return home to open up a four-game homestand starting Wednesday against Hawai'i Pacific. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.