Good Friday became a bad Friday night for the University of Hawaii baseball team in Irvine, Calif.

UC Irvine took advantage of UH mistakes and erratic pitching for a 12-4 rout at Anteater Field.

The Anteaters, who improved to 14-11 and 1-1 in the Big West, scored two runs to tie it at 3 when second baseman Dustin Demeter mishandled a bases-loaded popup with two outs in the fifth inning.

“He just dropped it,” said UH coach Mike Trapasso, whose ’Bows fell to 15-9 and 1-1. “What are you going to do? What can you do? He dropped a popup right in his glove. It was a tough thing.”

The ’Bows went ahead, 4-3, in the sixth on Adam Fogel’s RBI single.

But the Anteaters took advantage of two mistakes to score two runs to regain the lead, 5-4, in the bottom of the sixth. Pinch hitter Ryan Johnston drew a leadoff walk against freshman left-hander Jeremy Yelland. Johnston then scooted to second on Yelland’s wild pickoff attempt. Two outs later, Jake Palmer sliced an opposite-field single to left to score Johnston with the tying run.

Yelland then appeared to pick off Palmer for the third out. But as the ’Bows ran off the field, third-base umpire Joe Burleson ruled Yelland had committed a balk, and Palmer was allowed to advance to second base.

“You’ll have to ask the umpire about that,” Trapasso said. “You have a four-man crew, and the guy with the worst angle calls the balk — the other umpire at third base, which I’ve seen one other time in my entire career. But the three other guys with better angles don’t call it, which I find very interesting. But don’t ask me. I thought the entire game, the entire night, was strange.”

Freshman Brendan Brooks then doubled to drive in Palmer with the go-ahead run.

Ryan Fitzpatrick hit a solo homer in the seventh to extend the lead to 6-4, and the Anteaters moved out of reach with a six-run eighth.

Trapasso said the ’Bows’ undoing was inconsistent pitching, sloppy defense and untimely hitting. The ’Bows stranded 14 runners, including three after they filled the bases with no outs in the eighth. But Nick Anderson, who started the game as the designated hitter, got the inning’s final three outs to quell the threat. Anderson joined UCI this season as a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech.

“We left 14 on base,” Trapasso said. “I don’t know if that even matters because we pitched so poorly.”

Freshman starter Cade Smith exited after allowing seven hits and three runs — only one earned — in 41⁄3 innings. “Cade was elevated,” Trapasso said of Smith’s top-of-the-zone pitches. “Even though Cade kept us in it, he threw too many pitches (86).”

Yelland surrendered five earned runs in 22⁄3 innings, and Matt Richardson gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning.

“They just didn’t execute pitches,” Trapasso said. “I thought the situation got to Jeremy a little bit. But you know what? It’ll be a learning experience.”

Trapasso added: “We didn’t play well in any phase other than getting guys on base. … We have to drive guys in. You get guys on base, you have to drive them in.”

Neil Uskali will start for UH in today’s finale of the three-game series. Trapasso said every pitcher who is rested and healthy will be available for relief.

“It’s all about (Saturday’s) game,” Trapasso said.