SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (Interstat) — Austin Gordon pitched five scoreless innings and Jacob Cozart homered and drove in four runs as the Rocket City Trash Pandas beat the Tennessee Smokies 13-3 on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, at Smokies Stadium in Game 2 of their Double-A Southern League playoff series. The Trash Pandas won the series 2-0, sweeping the Smokies and advancing. Gordon earned the win, while Brody McCullough took the loss.

Rocket City pounded out 14 hits and scored in four different innings. The Trash Pandas scored two runs in the first, four in the second and three in the third, then added four more in the seventh. Tennessee managed single runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth. The Smokies were hurt by three double plays, while Rocket City used two sacrifice flies to help build its lead. Tennessee finished with nine hits.

Cozart powered the Rocket City offense from the designated hitter spot. He went 3-for-5 with one home run and four RBIs, repeatedly delivering with runners on base. Arjun Nimmala added a 2-for-6 performance with a home run and one RBI. Tucker Flint finished 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Jake Munroe drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Eddie Micheletti Jr. doubled home two runs. Caleb Bartolero also had a sacrifice fly, and Nick Rodriguez and Jake Thompson contributed extra-base hits as Rocket City pulled away.

The Trash Pandas struck early and often. Nimmala doubled sharply, and Flint followed with a two-run homer to center field. Cozart later doubled home a run and then homered to right field. Micheletti doubled home two more runs, and Munroe lifted a sacrifice fly. In the late innings, Munroe singled home a run, Cozart singled home another, and Bartolero added a sacrifice fly. Rodriguez also doubled and walked twice, helping set the table for the middle of the order.

The most important stretch came when Rocket City scored in each of the first three innings to build a 9-0 lead. Cozart’s homer was the biggest blow. Tennessee never recovered. Gordon retired the side in order in the second and worked around a first-inning single. In the fourth, Rocket City’s defense turned a double play to snuff out a threat. Another double play ended a Tennessee rally in the fifth. The Smokies finally broke through with a run, but Rocket City answered with four more in the seventh. Cozart’s RBI single and Bartolero’s sacrifice fly helped cap the scoring.

Gordon was in control for Rocket City. He allowed five hits and no earned runs over five innings, striking out four. The win moved Gordon to 9-7 on the season. McCullough, the Tennessee starter, dropped to 2-5. Tyler Ras gave the Smokies two scoreless innings of relief, surrendering one hit and striking out two. Camden Minacci struck out two in a scoreless inning for the Trash Pandas, and Carlos Espinosa allowed one run on one hit with two strikeouts over 1.2 innings. Kevin Valdez recorded one out with a strikeout, and Luis Rujano added a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Kane Kepley led Tennessee with two hits and one RBI. Andy Garriola doubled in a run, and Ariel Armas had an RBI single. Alex Ramírez, Karson Simas and Alex Madera also contributed hits, but Tennessee could not string together enough offense against Rocket City’s pitching staff. The Smokies grounded into double plays in key spots and left several runners stranded. Tennessee’s bullpen kept the game from getting worse, but the early deficit was too large.

The victory improved Rocket City to 73-64 on the season. Tennessee fell to 72-65. The game took 3 hours, 16 minutes and drew 3,063 fans. Rocket City had won the series opener 9-2 on Sept. 15. With the win, Rocket City completed a 2-0 series victory and ended Tennessee’s playoff run.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Rocket City 7, Tennessee 5. Interstat’s ELO system had given Tennessee a 57.7 percent probability to win.