Saturday was one of those bad-taste days for the University of Hawaii baseball team.

“There’s no sugar-coating it,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said in a postgame phone call regarding the ’Bows’ 8-4 loss to seventh-ranked Long Beach State at Blair Field. “We didn’t pitch well, and there were a couple defensive mistakes that hurt us. You can’t do that against a top-10 team. You’ve got to play a near perfect game to beat them, and we didn’t.”

The Dirtbags cobbled 11 hits, took advantage of defensive lapses and poorly located pitches, and quelled potential rallies with a youthful bullpen. They turned two double plays.

“The two freshmen they brought in were impressive,” Trapasso said of right-hander Connor Riley and lefty Zak Baayoun. “They have big arms and electric stuff. Those two kids are going to be special by the time they leave Long Beach.”

Riley and Baayoun combined for three shutout innings.

By winning on Friday and Saturday, the Dirtbags claimed their ninth consecutive series. The three-game series concludes today, beginning at 10 a.m. Hawaii time.

The ’Bows, who fell to 26-21 and 8-12 in the Big West, need to win their final four regular-season games for a 12-12 conference record for the third consecutive year. To accomplish that, the ’Bows will need better pitching and defense.

Dominic DeMiero allowed seven hits, exiting with the bases loaded and UH down 4-2 with no outs in the fifth inning. He eventually was credited with six earned runs.

“Dom was a little sabotaged defensively, and he sabotaged himself on the one bunt play (in the fifth),” Trapasso said.

With Laine Huffman on first, DeMiero fielded Jarren Duran’s bunt, then skipped a throw too late to second. “With a good throw,” Trapasso said, Huffman “is out at second.” Instead, Huffman and Duran eventually scored during a three-run fifth that bloated the Dirtbags’ lead to 7-2.

Neil Uskali, making his second career relief appearance, gave up a two-run double on an 0-2 pitch in the fifth.

“He tried to bury a breaking ball, but he hung up in the zone,” Trapasso said. “So right out of the gate, his third pitch of the day was a badly missed location, and the guy hits it for a double. He pitched better later, but the damage was done.”

The Dirtbags also took extra bases on two throws from the outfield — one missing the cut-off man, the other when the cut-off fielder was aligned in the wrong area.

Kekai Rios hit a two-run homer in the first to stake the ’Bows to an early lead. That provided a lift, Trapasso said, “for an inning.”

Lucas Tancas and Huffman each drove in two runs for the Dirtbags.

“They’re a scary lineup, particularly the middle of the lineup,” Trapasso said. “They hit the ball to all fields.”

Third baseman Josh Rojas, who was suspended for Friday’s game, returned to the UH lineup and went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. He also fielded a chopper and threw quickly to nab a runner at the plate. But while the ’Bows had their moments, the Dirtbags had more.

“They were better than us,” Trapasso said. “They just came out and beat us. We didn’t play well from the mound and we didn’t take care of the baseball as well as we need to. I’m disappointed in how we pitched and played defense. The bottom line is (the Dirtbags) were good. They were very good offensively.”