IRVINE, Calif. » In the opening game of its first road series against a Big West Conference opponent, Hawaii left its offense back in the islands.

The Rainbows managed only two baserunners and one hit in the first 81⁄3 innings, then watched a potential rally in the ninth inning fizzle in a 4-1 loss to UC Irvine on Friday in front of 810 at Anteater Ballpark.

UH’s top three hitters went a combined 1-for-10. Kaeo Aliviado recorded the hit, an infield single in the first inning, before finishing 1-for-4. Conner George’s nine-game hitting streak ended with an 0-for-3 performance.

Marc Flores, who had hit .375 with eight doubles since March 2, finished 0-for-4 and struck out twice.

Irvine’s Andrew Thurman proved dominant. The junior right-hander struck out eight Rainbows in 82⁄3 innings and induced 10 groundouts for his third victory of the year.

After conceding Aliviado’s single in the top of the first, Thurman struck out the next five ‘Bows while retiring six successive batters. Stephen Ventimilia broke that streak when he reached base in the third on an error. But Thurman picked him off before retiring the next 16 in a row.

"We just couldn’t figure him out, particularly early, and early was the time to get to him," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "He was struggling with throwing his off-speed stuff for strikes and he was going deep in a lot of counts. But we just couldn’t get comfortable. We couldn’t get that fastball out front even though we had a lot of advantage counts.

"Honestly, it felt like we were still on the plane the first four innings."

With the Rainbows (7-19, 2-2) unable to get to Thurman, Irvine took control against UH right-hander Connor Little.

The 27th-ranked Anteaters (18-8, 1-3) turned three hits, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly into two runs in the bottom of the first and added two more in the fourth, including a solo home run from Taylor Sparks, his third of the season.

Little allowed eight hits and a walk in eight innings, struck out four Anteaters and retired 14 of the final 15.

"I’m really proud of him," Trapasso said. "Honestly, that’s a very good outing for him. Connor’s a guy who gives up more than a hit per inning pitched. But for the most part, he’s pitching to contact with three pitches. He’s going to keep you in the game because he’s going to make guys put the ball in play and use our defense."

Little was making his first appearance since being hit in the knee by a line drive March 28 against UC Santa Barbara.

"The knee felt great," Little said. "It’s back to 100 percent."

With Irvine at bay, UH brought the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth.

Austin Wobrock lined a single up the middle with one out. Ventimilia followed with another single and Pi‘ikea Kitamura reached on an error to load the bases.

Aliviado hit into a fielder’s choice to bring Wobrock home and force Thurman from the mound. Reliever Race Parmenter faced Flores, who hit a sharp grounder that Parmenter speared before throwing to first base for the final out.