SAN ANTONIO — Nolan Trabanino dazzled in his first career start and he guided UTSA to a 7-1 victory against Texas-Pan American on Tuesday at Roadrunner Field.
The left-hander allowed just one run, scattered four hits and struck out four in 7.1 innings before giving way to the bullpen after facing the first three batters in the eighth.
Trabanino (3-0) surrendered a lead-off double to pinch hitter Bryan Ramirez and Dillon Engelhart followed with a clean single into left field that put runners on the corners. After a visit by pitching coach Brett Lawler, the Friendswood native struck out Shane Klemcke on a 2-2 fastball.
First-year head coach Jason Marshall then handed the ball to right-hander Wesley Cox, who gave up an run-scoring fielder's choice to Andy Fortuna. That ended Trabanino's streak of 12.2 innings without allowing the opposition to cross home plate.
Cox then forced Riley Goulding to fly out three pitches later to end the panel and Matt Sims struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the win.
UTSA (6-3) opened the scoring in the second when Riley Good's double to the right-center field gap plated RJ Perucki, who led off the frame with a two-bagger of his own.
The Birds broke open the contest with a three-run seventh.
Perucki was hit by a pitch, Good singled and pinch hitter Justin Anderson was intentionally walked to load the bases. Rodney Garza followed with an RBI groundout to second base and Horacio Correa III then stroked a two-run single to center field.
The Roadrunners picked up three more tallies a panel later.
After Mike Warren was hit by a pitch, Perucki belted a 2-1 fastball over the wall in left-center to push the lead to 6-1. Good followed Perucki's third homer of the spring with his fourth hit of the day, a single to center and, after Good advanced to second on a balk, John Bormann drew a walk with the fourth ball getting away from the catcher, which put runners at the corners. Bormann then stole second and Good came home on the throw to cap the scoring.
Good was 4-for-4 with a stolen base and he also scored a pair of runs, while Perucki went 2-for-3 with a double, a homer, two RBIs and three runs.
Dylan Badura (0-2) took the loss for the Broncs (2-6) after giving up a run on five hits over the first six innings. The southpaw walked one and fanned four.
The Roadrunners will return to action this weekend when they host the UTSA Classic at Wolff Stadium. UTSA will open tournament play at 6 p.m. on Friday against Omaha (0-0). The Birds also will play Penn State (1-5) at 6 p.m. on Saturday and Stephen F. Austin (1-4) at 4 p.m. the following day.