SAN ANTONIO — UTSA won its first-ever Conference USA series with a split of Saturday’s home doubleheader with Florida Atlantic. The Roadrunners took the opener by a score of 6-0 before falling in the nightcap, 3-0.
UTSA (11-5), which finished its nine-game home stand with a 6-3 record, will travel to No. 20 Sam Houston State (12-3) on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. contest.
Game 1: UTSA 6, Florida Atlantic 0
Nine different Roadrunners picked up hits with Jesse Baker leading the way with a 2-for-5 outing, as UTSA broke open a pitcher’s duel with a four-runs eighth inning.
Nolan Trabanino pitched 6.2 innings of four-hit shutout ball to pick up his third win of the season. The left-hander struck out five and walked one.
After Trabanino and Florida Atlantic’s Jeremy Strawn traded scoreless frames through the first four innings, Horacio Correa III scored from second in the bottom of the fifth on a throwing error by FAU shortstop CJ Chatham.
C.J. Pickering doubled down the right-field line in the seventh to bring John Bormann all the way around from first base to increase the lead to 2-0. Bormann used a head-first slide into home to narrowly beat a long relay throw from right.
The Roadrunners finally broke open the contest in the eighth with four different RBI singles. Mitchell Matulia, Bormann, Tony Ramirez and John Welborn each drove in runs to push the advantage to 6-0.
Matt Sims did not allow a hit over 1.2 innings of work for his second save of the season.
Game 2: Florida Atlantic 3, UTSA 0
After a 30-minute rain delay between games, offense was difficult to come by for the two 2013 NCAA Tournament teams.
Florida Atlantic (11-5, 1-2 C-USA) took its first lead of the weekend in the third inning on Stephen Kerr’s RBI single through the right side of the infield. Brendon Sanger followed two batters with another run-scoring single and Kerr came around on a Pickering fielding error for a 3-0 lead.
Those were the only runs scored in a game that was played in blustery conditions.
Drew Jackson (2-0) picked up the win on the mound for the Owls after striking out seven and allowing only four hits in six innings of work. Kevin Alexander tossed the final two frames for his fourth save of the season.