A cross-up lifted Holy Cross to a 6-4 baseball victory over Hawaii at Les Murakami Stadium on Saturday night.

A crowd of 2,357 saw the Crusaders score the decisive two runs on a throwing error in the ninth inning.

The outcome evened the series at a game apiece. Today’s third installment of the four-game series is scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m.

It was 4-all when Gianni Royer singled and Connor Cooney walked to lead off the Holy Cross ninth. CJ Egrie then bunted toward the mound. Right-handed pitcher Itsuki Takemoto fielded the ball but threw wildly to third and Royer and Cooney raced home. Egrie was thrown out third.

“I’ll have to look at the film,” UH coach Rich Hill said. “That’s why I made that mound trip (preceding that at-bat). ‘Our play, this is what’s going to happen.’ Any type of angle to (the bunt), Itsuki’s going to spin and throw to third. We just didn’t execute. That’s baseball.”

Takemoto, a freshman from Japan, entered having not allowed a run in in five innings over three appearances this year. Takemto retired all three batters he faced in the eighth, striking out two.

“You’ve got to give credit to Holy Cross,” Hill said. “They put the bat on the ball, and did the things they needed to do.”

The ’Bows missed a chance to take the lead after they loaded the bases with one out in the eighth.

“That’s something we need to do a better job of,” Hill said. “Through the first 10 games, we’ve been below average with a runner on third base and less than two outs. We call it winning the tough one. We will. It’ll come around.”

Holy Cross right-hander Alex Bryant held the ’Bows without a hit through three innings and without a run in the first five innings.

But down 4-0 in the sixth, the ’Bows loaded the bases with one out when Elijah Ickes singled and DallasJ Duarte and Austin Machado drew walks.

Luke Lemond then was summoned to replace Bryant. A passed ball allowed Ickes to score from third and Duarte and Machado to move up a base. Matthew Miura then hit an opposite-field shot down the right-field line for a two-run triple to close the ’Bows to 4-3.

Jared Quandt’s squeeze brought home Miura with the tying run.

“Great positives,” Hill said. “Obviously, a lot of things to work on.”

The Crusaders jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

Chris Baillargeon opened the scoring with a drive over the right-field fence off Randy Abshier. Braden Connors doubled to left-center, then went to third on Jimmy King’s bloop double to right. Connors came home with the Crusaders’ second run on Royer’s RBI groundout.

Abshier, in his third Saturday start, struck out nine in the first four innings. But he exited in the fifth after allowing a walk and a single. Zacary Tenn entered, striking out Alex Sandell, but then yielding Jack Toomey’s two-run triple.

“I thought Randy hit his stride a little bit,” Hill said of Abshier. “He could have buckled. He had some good stuff once again.”

Abshier threw 79 pitches, 52 of them for strikes. “But he walked a guy and gave up a hit, and I think it was the third time through the order, so it was time for a change,” said Hill, who anticipated a bunt situation. “Zac Tenn’s been great off the mound. He’s very athletic. And Randy was at 80 pitches. I’d (rather) pull a guy one pitch too early than one pitch too late all the time. It was the right time to do that.”