SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Trash Pandas Swept by M-Braves in Twin Bill

Published on August 11, 2023 under Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


MADISON, Alabama - The Rocket City Trash Pandas battled in a couple of close affairs, but ultimately suffered an 8-5 loss to the Mississippi Braves in the opener of a doubleheader before a 10-7 defeat in the second game in front of 5,595 at Toyota Field on Friday night.

The Braves opened the scoring in the first game, plating three runs in the top of the second against Rocket City starter Robinson Pina (L, 3-2) for an early advantage.

Rocket City fought back in in the bottom of the third, taking three walks to load the bases with one out off Mississippi starter Nolan Kingham. Nolan Schanuel cashed in the first run for the home team with an RBI single to center. Sonny DiChiara followed with his own single to center, scoring Kyren Paris and David Calabrese to even the score at three. With two outs, Jose Gomez put the Trash Pandas in front with a line drive single to right, scoring Schanuel.

The Trash Pandas held the lead until the fifth. Then, Bryson Horne hit his second double of the game off Pina and came around to score two hitters later on Luke Waddell's sacrifice fly. Jake Lee entered with two outs and a runner on first in a tie game. But a wild pitch was followed by Drew Lugbauer's RBI single to right, putting Mississippi back up 5-4.

Rocket City's offense was held quiet by Braves relievers Domingo Gonzalez (W, 2-4) in the fifth and Ty Tice in the sixth. The Braves put the game out of reach in the eighth on a solo shot from Waddell and a two-run homer from Lugbauer off Jack Dashwood.

The Trash Pandas got one back in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double from Schanuel before Tice (S, 2) struck out DiChiara to finish the win and earn the save.

The second game was a slugfest from the start. In the opening frame, the Trash Pandas struck first on Schanuel's first professional home run, an opposite field solo blast into the Mississippi bullpen in left field. Tucker Flint and Gomez kept the inning alive with two-out singles. Gabe Matthews then brought them both home with a double to the gap in left-center, putting Rocket City up 3-0 early.

The Braves got the runs right back in the top of the second against Jack Kochanowicz. Hudson Potts got the visitors on the board with an RBI double, and Jesse Franklin V's two-run homer later in the inning put Mississippi up for the first time 4-3.

The back-and-forth swing continued in the bottom of the inning when Mac McCroskey started it with a single. Calabrese restored the Rocket City lead at 5-4 with a two-run home run, his 11th of the season, 376 feet over the right field fence.

Mississippi came back against Trash Pandas reliever Erik Martinez (L, 1-1) in the third. Cal Conley's RBI single tied the game, Potts followed with an RBI single of his own to put the Braves back in front 6-5. Waddell capped the inning's scoring with a two-run double to deep right. McCroskey got a run back for Rocket City in the bottom of the inning with his second hit of the game, an RBI single to left.

The Braves plated their final two runs in the fifth, when Franklin took a bases loaded walk. As the ball was in reliever Houston Harding's possession after ball four, Cody Milligan dashed to the plate and scored with a steal of home for a 10-6 lead.

Gomez drove in another run in the bottom of the sixth with a bases-loaded single to center. Matthews looked to get the Trash Pandas closer with a line drive to the right side. However, second baseman Conley made a leaping catch and threw back to second base, doubling off Schanuel to end the inning. Trey Riley (S, 2) finished the win with a clean ninth.

At the plate, Gomez went 2-for-4 with two runs in the second game while Calabrese went 2-for-4 with two runs scored including the home run.

The Trash Pandas (48-58, 17-20 second half) continue the series against the M-Braves (49-56, 16-21 second half) on Saturday night. First pitch at Toyota Field is set for 6:35 p.m. Josh Caray will be on the call for 103.9 FM THE UMP and 730 AM SportsRadio. The game will also be televised locally on WAAY 31.6, This TV. Following the game, a fireworks show will amaze fans of all ages, presented by AVID Hotel.

Check out the Rocket City Trash Pandas Statistics

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Southern League Stories from August 11, 2023


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