The Hawaii baseball team has shown the ability to come back from late-inning deficits.

Holding onto leads is proving to be the tougher challenge.

Alex Guthrie hit the go-ahead RBI single and Bret Dahlson homered as Loyola Marymount scored seven unanswered runs to pull off a 7-5 victory over the Rainbows yesterday in Los Angeles.

Hawaii (3-5) bolted out to a 5-0 lead, only to see the Lions (8-2) score six straight runs with two outs.

UH starter Matt Sisto faced only two batters over the minimum through five innings. With two outs in the sixth, things unraveled as the Lions strung together five hits and put an end to Sisto’s day.

Shon Roe hit a two-run double and Guthrie followed with an RBI double, forcing UH to go to the bullpen. Blair Walters came on and allowed an infield single before a throwing error by Kolten Wong, his sixth this season, allowed the Lions to tie the game at 5-5.

"That’s the second outing in a row that once (Sisto) hit 80 pitches, he really started elevating the ball," Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. "I couldn’t get him out of the game fast enough because he was absolutely dominating up to that point, and the wheels fell off so fast we didn’t have time to get Blair loose."

Walters (2-1) hadn’t allowed a run in 10 innings this season and got the first two batters out in the seventh before throwing eight straight balls. Zach Gallagher entered the game and allowed the RBI single to Guthrie to put the Lions up 6-5.

"If you walk two guys with two outs and nobody on, you’re asking for trouble," Trapasso said. "It’s pretty rough because we felt like we had the game in hand and basically gave it away on the mound."

Zack Swasey started at designated hitter for the Rainbows and had two hits to extend his hitting streak to seven games.

UH used some small ball to take a 2-0 lead. Pi’ikea Kitamura grounded out to first to score Jeff Van Doornum, who walked and stole a base to start the third. Breland Almadova then laid down a squeeze bunt to score Collin Bennett.

Wong, who had two hits, led off the fifth with a single and scored on an RBI single by Sean Montplaisir. Bennett drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and David Peterson had an RBI single to give UH a 5-0 lead.

Jason Wheeler (2-0) allowed all five runs for LMU, but lasted seven innings and had three walks and six strikeouts.

UH had the tying run on third base with two outs in the eighth for Wong, whom LMU decided to pitch to with first base open. The Lions brought in closer Ryan Hawthorne, who got Wong to line out to left.

Dahlson added a home run in the eighth for the final score.

LMU sophomore Zac Fujimoto, a 2008 Maryknoll graduate, started in center field, going 1-for-3, and was hit by a pitch.

Junior Connor Little (0-0, 2.70) will start for the ‘Bows today at 11 a.m. Hawaii time.