The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors left too much business unfinished on Saturday, falling 4-2 to UC Davis at Dobbins Stadium in a game that felt closer than the final score indicated.

In front of 547 fans, the 'Bows saw their rally hopes slip away as they stranded five runners in scoring position, hit into two momentum-crushing double plays, and surrendered a critical two-run homer that proved to be the difference.

"Two-out hits are golden," said head coach Rich Hill, whose team managed just 1-for-7 with two outs. "We got one with Benny (Zeigler-Namoa) at the end, which was great. But we left a lot of guys on base. It was tough to score runs. The team that deserved to win the game won the game, in my opinion."

The loss evened this three-game series at a win apiece and dropped Hawaii to 25-20 overall and 14-12 in Big West play. The 'Bows remain locked in a fourth-place tie with Cal State Fullerton, two games ahead of sixth-place UC Irvine with just four regular-season games remaining. Only the top five teams earn a spot in the Big West Tournament.

The Aggies struck first in the third inning, aided by a pair of controversial calls. Joey Wright was ruled hit by a pitch despite replays appearing to show he avoided contact, then scooted to third on Zach Story's double. An attempted throw-out at second by left fielder Draven Nushida was also overturned, and Tyler Howard's RBI grounder gave UC Davis a 1-0 lead.

Pitcher Hekili Robello settled in after that, retiring 10 straight batters before Ethan Felix led off the seventh with a triple. Jaxon Murphy followed with an opposite-field single to bring Felix home for a 2-0 lead.

Then came the decisive blow: two-way standout Braydon Wooldridge launched a two-run homer to right field, extending the lead to 4-0. Hill and pitching coach Keith Zuniga debated whether to intentionally walk the left-handed Wooldridge or bring in lefty reliever Grant Garman, but ultimately stuck with Robello, whose pitch count sat at just 82.

"I thought (Robello) was in great shape," Hill said. "His velocity was holding. He was still at 90 mph. He didn't walk anybody. They had to earn it, and they did. We thought we could jam him. He just got the head out a little bit. Got to give him credit."

The 'Bows finally broke through in the eighth, cutting the deficit in half on Zeigler-Namoa's two-run double. But that was as close as they would get against Aggies closer Rowen Barnes, who earned a four-out save—his 11th of the season—while lowering his ERA to a microscopic 0.85.

Hawaii squandered additional scoring chances after the leadoff batter reached, leaving the team to wonder what might have been as they head into the final stretch of the regular season.