Coming off a successful road trip, the Hawaii softball team saw a five-game winning streak end in its return home.

Cal State Fullerton rallied from an early deficit and scratched out two runs in the top of the ninth inning in a 5-3 win over the Rainbow Wahine to open a three-game Big West series Friday night.

CSF sophomore Jasmine Antunez entered the game with one out in the bottom of the first with UH already ahead 3-0 on a Leisha Li’ili’i home run. The Titans tied the game in the third and Antunez threw 82⁄3 innings of shutout relief to earn the win over UH’s Loie Kesterson, who went the distance in the longest outing of her career.

The Titans (22-13-1, 3-1 Big West) scored the decisive run on a wild pitch with two out in the ninth in their first extra-inning game of the season.

Antunez closed out the ninth and CSF won its third straight while UH fell to 18-15 and 3-1 in the conference.

"It’s going to be (battles) all the way through, and if teams can come in and take series from us (at home) we’re in trouble," UH coach Bob Coolen said.

UH will try to avert that scenario in a doubleheader Saturday starting at 2 p.m. at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

Kesterson gave up 12 hits, struck out five and walked four while throwing 178 pitches. She is scheduled to get the start in Saturday’s second game, with Heather Morales slated to pitch in the opener.

Antunez, the Big West’s freshman pitcher of the year last season, is also likely to get another start on Saturday after throwing 170 pitches. She mixed speeds effectively while striking out eight and walking four and holding UH to four hits as the Wahine dropped to 9-13 at home.

"She threw a changeup and she threw a knuckle(ball) and the knuckle was the one going into the ground and dropping much quicker and we weren’t seeing it," Coolen said.

Li’ili’i gave UH the lead with a three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the first inning — her team-leading 10th of the season and 33rd of her career — off of CSF starter Christin Washington.

The Wahine threatened to add to the lead but left the bases loaded in the first and stranded runners at second and third in the second against Antunez.

The Titans loaded the bases against Kesterson in the top of the third and scored their first run when Gabby Aragon was hit by a pitch. Samantha Galarza delivered a sacrifice fly and Paige Kisling walked with the bases loaded to force in the tying run.

Kesterson and Antunez both left two runners on base in the seventh to send the game into extras.

The game went into the ninth and Galarza doubled down the left-field line with one out. Lauren Mario singled to center to put runners on second and third. Kesterson then got a strikeout but threw a wild pitch to Kisling to bring in Galarza with the go-ahead run.