The Rocket City Trash Pandas are now Southern League champions
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The Rocket City Trash Pandas made history Wednesday, September 23, as they defeated the Biloxi Shuckers 3-1 to capture their first-ever Southern League title.
The win finished off a season in which the Trash Pandas went from last place to first place and turned in one of the most impressive second half comebacks in league history.
One season after finishing 45-92, the Trash Pandas improved by 27 victories to go 72-65 during the regular season. Under first-year manager Joe Kruzel, they followed a North Division second-half title with their first playoff series victory, first North Division championship and—ultimately—their first Southern League crown.
Trash Pandas win first Southern League championship
The Trash Pandas led the entire game, thanks in large part to 6 1/3 innings of shutout baseball pitched by Austin Gordon, who left the game with a 2-run lead. A solo home run by Arjun Nimmala in the seventh inning put the Pandas up 3-1, which ended up being all that was needed to bring home the title.
Gordon’s impressive showing in the final game earned him the Southern League Championship Series MVP honors, as the right-hander finished the postseason with a stellar 0.79 ERA across two starts.
While this was the first Southern League title for the Trash Pandas, it is the third Southern League title for the Huntsville area. The Huntsville Stars won Southern League championships in 1985 and 1994.
While many fans—and probably most of the players—may not realize it, the win has more significance because of the opponent. The Biloxi Shuckers used to be the Huntsville Stars before then-owner Miles Prentice sold the team to businessman Ken Young in 2014. Young then moved the team to Biloxi, and the Rocket City was without professional baseball for six years.
Rocket City became the 24th different Southern League champion and the league’s first new champion since 2017.
