Mother Nature provided a peaceful ending to the Southern League baseball season for the Rocket City Trash Pandas and the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field Sunday afternoon.
Light rain had fallen before the 2:15 start, but a serious downpour caused a delay in the bottom of the second inning and play was never resumed as the field was simply unplayable with puddles of water down both the first and third baselines.
There were no playoff implications for either team, making Sunday’s final regular-season game meaningless from the start. The Lookouts had a chance to win the series after winning three of the first five games.
The score was tied at 1-1 when the rains came.
The Trash Pandas had scored a single run in the first inning. David Mershon had led off with a walk on four pitches and advanced to third on a single by former Tennessee Vol Christian Moore. Orlando Martinez then grounded into a Taylor-made 4-6-3 double play that allowed Mershon to score.
The Lookouts knotted the score in the second when left fielder Quincy McAfee ripped the first pitch down the line in left on a ball that was just inside the foul pole and barely cleared the fence. Austin Headrick then ripped an 0-2 pitch into the corner in right for a double.
There was a 1-2 count on catcher Michael Trautwein when the rains came. It didn’t take long for the umpires to clear the field and for the ground crew to get the huge tarp spread across the infield.
Ironically, the rain stopped almost immediately after the tarp was spread. After the rain had moved out of the area about an hour later, the tarp was removed. The lead umpire then had a conversation with Chattanooga manager Jose Moreno and Rocket City’s Andy Schatzley and the game was called shortly afterward.
Moore, who had one of two Rocket City hits on Sunday, had a big game on Saturday night when he had three hits, scored two runs and drove in four in an 8-0 Trash Panda win.
The Lookouts end a dismal season in which they won just 44 games while losing 89. The Trash Pandas weren’t much better as they finished with 60 wins and 75 losses, including 27-40 in the second half.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)