RUSTON, La. » Mike Trapasso left J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park on Saturday likely for the last time and noticeably upset with the outcome.

The Hawaii coach mentioned after Friday’s 7-4 loss to Louisiana Tech (20-23, 3-9) the importance of not walking leadoff batters, and the Rainbows (25-18, 5-4) did so three times Saturday, all of which turned into runs.

Still, the issue that stung most was an inability to score, he said after the 4-1 defeat that clinched the ‘Bows’ first series loss since dropping four games at Gonzaga in March.

"We weren’t able to get the hit when we needed to," he said. "We had tons of chances, and I don’t know how many we left on base, but it had to be a ton. We’ve just had a pattern all year where we’ve struggled to get that timely hit with runners in scoring position, and it really hurt us today. The leadoff walks were huge, but that’s not the story of the game. The story of the game is that we couldn’t muster any offense."

UH matched the Bulldogs hit for hit as both teams finished with 10 in the game, and also reached base on a pair of Tech errors.

The Rainbows stranded 14 of those 15 runners, though, while their hosts managed to manufacture enough to leave victorious.

Hawaii starter Scott Squier (3-3) walked Tech’s first batter of the day, Taylor Terrasas, and Stephen Gandy made him pay with an RBI single to left field.

A leadoff free pass also sparked the only run support provided to Squier and relievers Brent Harrison and Lawrence Chew.

Tech starter Trevor Petersen (4-4) walked Breland Almadova to open the second inning, and Max Duval drove him home with a single to the right side to knot the game at 1.

But that was all the ‘Bows could post to the scoreboard.

"Three leadoff walks cost us three runs, but you can’t come into an offensive park like this and score one run," Trapasso said. "We lost this game because we had no offense. We really played well pitching-wise, and defensively we played well, made all the plays. We just weren’t able to scratch any runs across, and that’s disappointing because that game was there to be had."

Petersen earned the victory in 5 1⁄3 innings, allowing the Rainbows’ only run on seven hits and a pair of walks.

Jamie Gilley worked 2 2⁄3 innings of scoreless relief and allowed two hits and struck out three batters, and Caleb Dudley pitched the ninth to take the save.

Almadova and Pi‘ikea Kitamura finished 2-for-4 on the day.

Squier put Justin Gordey on first base to begin the bottom of the fifth, and Alex Williams drove his teammate home on a double off Duval’s outstretched glove at first base.

Harrison took the mound with the bases loaded two batters later and effectively squelched the threat, but the Bulldogs had already done enough damage.

Squier suffered the loss, allowing two runs on five hits, two walks and two strikeouts in 4 2⁄3 innings.

Harrison allowed a pair of his own scores on four hits and one walk in 2 2⁄3 innings, and Chew allowed one hit in the final 2⁄3 of an inning.

"The tough thing is you bring your closer (Harrison) in in the fifth inning of a 2-1 game," Trapasso said. "That shouldn’t have to happen, but you do it because you know the way we’re swingin’, one more run could be it, and that’s disappointing. We’ve just gotta find a way to scratch more runs across, and even if we don’t walk three leadoff guys, we’re still sittin’ here, 1-1, having only scored one run. You’ve gotta be able to score to win, particularly in a ballpark that’s made for scoring, and that’s just disappointing."

The third leadoff walk came in the bottom of the eighth when Harrison put Austin Hedges on base.

Back-to-back pinch hitters made the most of the opportunity as Kyle Arnsberg sacrifice bunted Hedges to second and Kody Neel sent a ball deep off the wall in left-center field to extend the lead to 3-1.

Pinch runner Taylor Burch advanced to third as Tyler Qualls singled through the left side and then scored for the 4-1 advantage as Gordey bunted safely to the right side with two strikes against him.

The damage could’ve been much worse, though, as the Rainbows’ pitchers managed to leave 11 Tech baserunners stranded, including three innings in which the Bulldogs left the bases loaded.

"It’s a 4-3 road trip, which you say it’s a winning road trip, but you leave with an extremely bitter taste in your mouth because you’ve got two games that if you just had any ability offensively to score runs, you win and you sweep, but we just didn’t, and that’s baseball," Trapasso said. "(The Bulldogs) made the pitches at the right time, and we couldn’t get the hit at the right time, so hats off to them."