BELLEVUE, Wash. — LMU rallied to tie the game in the eighth inning Saturday, but Seattle U answered immediately in the bottom half to secure a 5-4 West Coast Conference victory at Bannerwood Park, dropping the Lions to 10-26.

Senior right-hander Jonah Johnson labored through 6.2 innings in a start that was more workmanlike than clean. He allowed just five hits and induced four double plays, but issued eight walks, constantly working out of trouble before finally exiting with runners on base in the seventh. Johnson was charged with four earned runs, the biggest blow a two-run home run by Ryder Manale to right field in the fourth inning that staked the Redhawks to a 2-0 lead.

LMU answered in the fifth when Andrew Mhoon hit a ground-rule double and Jake Lyall drove him home with a single to center. The Lions tied it briefly in the sixth on a Noah Malone RBI single to left that scored Zion Williams, but Seattle plated runs in the sixth and seventh innings to stretch the lead back to 4-2.

Malone gave LMU life again in the eighth. With two outs and the bases loaded, the sophomore center fielder lined a single through the right side to score DJ Ghiorso and Zach Wadas, knotting the game at four. All three of Malone's RBI on the day came with two outs, and he finished 2-for-4.

The Redhawks wasted no time responding. Payton Knowles singled home pinch-runner Hayden Carlson in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Matt Moreno to put Seattle ahead for good. Moreno (2-1) absorbed the loss.

LMU finished with nine hits and committed no errors. Ghiorso went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, while Mhoon contributed a double and a walk in three plate appearances.