SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley baseball team closed out the 2017 season with an 8-6 loss to Sacramento State on Saturday at John Smith Field.
 
Sophomore Conrad McMahon led UTRGV (26-28, 7-17 WAC) by going a career-best 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Senior Joseph Collazo also reached base three times, going 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and a run scored.
 
Sacramento State (28-27, 12-12 WAC) scored on an error in the first and carried that 1-0 lead into the third when, with runners at first and second, UTRGV pulled off a double steal. The throw got away, allowing McMahon to score to tie the game.
 
UTRGV put two on with nobody out in the fourth, setting up an RBI-double by junior Noah Lee. One out later, junior Isaac Gonzalez laid down a squeeze and then McMahon followed with a run-scoring single to make it 4-1.
 
Sacramento State tied the game in the fifth on a Trent Goodrich single, a Josh Outman groundout and a Kody Reynolds single.
 
UTRGV regained the lead in the top of the seventh against Austin Root (2-0) on an error, but in the bottom of the inning, Vinny Esposito singled to tie the game and knock out graduate student Connor Grant (7-9). One out later, Reynolds singled to left to give Sacramento State the lead. Then, after a walk loaded the bases, Andrew McWilliam hit a two-run single to cap the inning with the score 8-5.
 
Goodrich went 3-for-5 while Reynolds, Esposito and McWilliam each finished with two hits.
 
UTRGV pulled within two when Gomez grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the eighth, but Chad Perry pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.

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