RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- The Hawai'i Pacific University baseball team's woes continue on its Southern California swing as it opened a four-game set with No. 23 California Baptist with a 6-3 loss at Totman Stadium.
 
The Sharks (11-8, 1-6) have dropped five straight games in SoCal, while the Lancers (13-6, 4-1) won their third straight and sit a half-game out of first in the PacWest standings.
 
Sophomore centerfielder Tanner Tokunaga of Pearl City, Hawai'i/Pearl City was the offensive standout for HPU, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored.
 
The Sharks jumped on the board in the first inning after Tokunaga doubled to lead off the game, got to third and scored on Codi Santana's RBI sacrifice fly.
 
But a four-run third inning was the Sharks undoing, as the 23rd ranked Lancers got a two-RBI  triple, an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to take control.
 
HPU plated a run in the fifth as Trey Yukumoto turned a leadoff single into a run when Froy Smith brought him home with an RBI single. But the Lancers answered with a pair of singles and a walk to go go back up by three.
 
Tokunaga added an RBI double in the eighth to drive in pinch runner Austin Inabata to pull the Sharks back within two at 5-3, but the Lancers answered in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single after a leadoff walk to put the game away.
 
Sharks righthander Tyler Van Stone of Henderson, Nev./Foothills (0-1) was tagged with the loss in his first decision of the season. Stone struckout five, but allowed 10 hits and five runs all earned.
 
CBU's Andrew Bernstein (2-1) got the win, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits and struck out five. The Lancers Seth Kaneen got the save in giving up just one hit in two full innings.
 
The two teams play again in a single game on Friday in a single game scheduled for 4 p.m. HST (6 p.m. PST).