Trash Pandas throw no-hitter but drop game one, win with shutout in game two

By Aaron Cheris

MADISON – The Rocket City Trash Pandas fought back after a heartbreaking loss in the opener to earn their first victory of the season in the nightcap, splitting a doubleheader with the Chattanooga Lookouts on Saturday at Toyota Field.

The 7-5 loss in the opener came despite the second no-hitter in Trash Pandas history. A 3-0 win was next as two Rocket City pitchers combined on a one-hitter in a historic day on the mound.

The first game began as a pitcher’s duel, with Coleman Crow for the Trash Pandas and Connor Phillips of the Lookouts matching zeroes from the outset. The first hit for either side came on Edgar Quero’s two-out single in the third.

For his time on the mound, Crow was unhittable. A first-inning walk, and a third inning dropped third strike were the only runners to reach off Crow in the first five innings. In the bottom of the fifth, the Trash Pandas broke through against Chattanooga reliever Mac Sceroler. Aaron Whitefield walked, Zach Neto singled, and Kyren Paris followed with a line drive over the right field fence for the Trash Pandas’ first homer of the season, a three-run blast for a 3-0 edge.

Crow ended his brilliant performance with a scoreless sixth, working around a leadoff walk from Jacob Hurtubise to keep Chattanooga off the board. Crow finished with six hitless innings, walking two and striking out six in his first start of the season.

But in the seventh, the game unraveled for the Trash Pandas in historic fashion. Ben Joyce walked four men while getting the first two outs as the Lookouts got on the board. Looking to finish the no-hitter and the win with a 3-1 lead and the bases still loaded, Joyce (L, 0-1) induced a fly ball from Jose Torres. Trash Pandas center fielder Jeremiah Jackson was unable to make the catch, allowing all three runners to come home and score, giving the Lookouts a 4-3 lead.

Eric Torres was next into the bullpen and struggled. Four hit batters and a walk plated three more Chattanooga runs, still without a hit, to increase the lead to 7-3.

Rocket City fought back in the bottom half when Edgar Quero’s two-run single made it a 7-5 game. The home team couldn’t get any closer as Lookouts reliever Pedro Garcia (S, 2) struck out the next two hitters he faced to finish the win.

The result was the Trash Pandas’ second no-hitter in franchise history and the first in Minor League Baseball in 2023, despite the seven-run seventh from the Lookouts.

In the second game, Rocket City starter Sam Bachman was just as stellar as Crow was in the opener. He retired the Lookouts in order in the first, worked around a leadoff double in the second, struck out the side in the third, then punched out two more in the fourth.

Neto led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk. Orlando Martinez then crushed an opposite-field two-run home run to left, his first home of the season, to put the Trash Pandas in front 2-0.

Bachman ended his night by working around two hit batters in the fifth, finishing the second scoreless start of the day for Rocket City. In five clean innings, Bachman (W, 1-0) allowed just one hit while striking out nine to earn the victory, the second of his professional career.

The Trash Pandas added to the lead in the fifth on Myles Emmerson’s first Double-A hit, an RBI single to right to plate Bryce Teodosio.

Brett Kerry (S, 1) entered from the Rocket City bullpen in the sixth and fired two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. He also got an assist by a leaping catch at the wall from Whitefield, to complete the victory and earn the save, wrapping up the Trash Pandas’ first win of the season.

For the day, the Trash Pandas pitching staff combined to hold Chattanooga hitters to one hit over 14 innings.

The loss with seven runs allowed in the first game of the twin bill marked the second recorded time in professional baseball history a team allowed seven runs in a no-hitter and lost. The only other known occasion came on August 31, 1948, when the Wellsville Red Sox no-hit the Lockport Reds in a 7-3 loss in PONY League play.

After two days off, the Trash Pandas (1-2) hit the road for the first time in 2023 to begin a six-game series with the Birmingham Barons (1-2) on Tuesday night. First pitch from Regions Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Josh Caray will be on the call for 103.9 FM THE UMP and 730 AM SportsRadio.