With the start of Big West play just five games away, the Hawaii baseball team is not quite where it wants to be.

The Rainbows suffered another tough loss in their series against Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday. Starter Dominic DeMiero failed to make it through the third inning, UH struggled to execute in scoring situations at the plate and four walks and two balks led to extra runs allowed.

Hawaii also left the tying run on third in the seventh and ninth innings.

It all added up to a 5-4 loss to fall behind in the four-game series with a chance at a split today at 1:05 p.m.

“It was the little things that cost us and that’s what’s so disappointing,” Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. “You win that game 4-3 if you do the little things.”

Bakersfield reliever Graham Kuck held Hawaii (9-10) scoreless over the final 22⁄3 innings to earn the save for the Roadrunners (11-10), who have won nine of 11.

A Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 1,714 watched the ‘Bows score twice in the seventh inning and put the tying run on second with nobody out but fail to tie the game.

Bakersfield starter Ethan Skuija (2-1) held the ’Bows to two hits over the first six innings and took a 5-2 lead in the seventh.

Hawaii put the first three men on base with Daylen Calicdan singling home Ethan Lopez on a hit to right that was bobbled by Nick Grossman, allowing Calicdan to reach second as the tying run with Brennen Hancock on third and nobody out.

Tyler Best drove in Hancock on a sacrifice fly to left to make it 5-4 and Calicdan aggressively tagged and took third to put the tying run 90 feet away.

Kuck, who gave up the go-ahead hit in UH’s win on Thursday, came on in relief and struck out pinch hitter Logan Pouelsen on a 2-2 fastball out of the zone. He then got Scotty Scott to ground to first to strand Calicdan at third.

Hancock drew a one-out walk in the ninth and Tyler Best reached on a two-out error to put runners at the corners before Kuck got the ground ball to end it.

Mistakes and miscues led to the first runs of the games for both teams. Bakersfield opened the scoring in the second inning on a walk, balk, passed ball and RBI groundout from its first two hitters.

Hawaii trailed 3-0 after Evan Berkey’s chopper over the head of Alex Baeza at first scored two for the Roadrunners in the top of the third.

The Rainbows put their first two runs on the board on shortstop Will Picketts’ fielding error with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the inning but couldn’t take the lead after that. A failed bunt attempt with two on and nobody out ended with a double play followed by a fly out to end the inning.

More miscues in the fifth allowed Bakersfield to double their lead. A leadoff walk might not have hurt the ’Bows, but reliever Cade Smith’s indecision on whether to throw to third or first on a bunt attempt with two on and nobody out resulted in a bases-loaded situation.

He managed to get out of the inning allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly to keep UH in the game, but it was another run that could have been avoided.

“Cade busts his tail and competes but gets a late start going over to first base — routine PFP’s that you work on all the time — doesn’t get a head start over there, costs us another run and that’s the game,” Trapasso said.

Skuija retired eight in a row after the two-run error until Scott opened the sixth with an infield single, but Scott was immediately caught trying steal second.

The Roadrunners added what proved to be the winning run in the top of the seventh when catcher Jake Ortega beat out an infield single with two outs to score Noah Barba from third.

DeMiero (1-1) took the loss allowing three runs on three hits in 22⁄3 innings with two walks and no strikeouts.