SEATTLE  – Washington watched a 3-1 lead disappear in the seventh inning and fell, 5-3, to visiting UT Rio Grande Valley in a non-conference game Monday night at Husky Ballpark.
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The Vaqueros (20-21) scored four times in the game-changing seventh inning to stun the Huskies (18-18) and escape win the upset win.
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UTRGV jumped ahead 1-0 in the first inning with a run after there were two outs. Following a single by Coleman Grubbs, Ivan Estrella laced a RBI double to give his team a quick lead, but Washington answered back with runs in each of the first three innings. Â
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In the first,
Willie MacIver stroked a two-out single that scored
Levi Jordan, who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning. He added a solo home run – his second of the season – against Trevelle Hill that gave his team a 3-1 advantage. It was MacIver's eighth and ninth RBIs in just his 16
th game this year.
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In between MacIver's RBI hits,
Mason Cerrillo gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead in the second on a RBI double.
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The score remained 3-1 in the Huskies favor until the wheels fell off in the seventh inning. The Vaqueros scored four runs – three after there were two outs – to re-take the lead. Elijah Alexander hit a sacrifice fly and Grubbs followed with a game-tying double. Estrella supplied the big blow, a two-run, opposite field homer off of
Alex Hardy that turned the game upside down and gave his team the 5-3 lead which they would not relinquish.
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The Huskies threatened in their half of the seventh, but could not push a run across the board despite having two in scoring position with less than two outs.
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Juan Carreon II pitched the final two innings and did not allow a hit. He picked up his second save of the season.
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The win went to Hill (4-3), who settled down after allowing a run in each of the first three innings.
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Hardy (3-1) took the first loss of his career, falling to 9-1 all-time.
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MacIver was the Huskies top offensive hitter, going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI.
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The Huskies resume Pac-12 play this upcoming weekend by hosting Washington State for a three-game series. Game one is Friday at 7:05 p.m. All three games will be carried on the Pac-12 Network.
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