MADISON – It may have been Christian Moore bobblehead night, but it was Cole Fontenelle who had everyone shaking their heads.
The 23-year-old third baseman, who missed most of last season with a broken fibula, hit for the first cycle in Rocket City Trash Pandas history in Tuesday night’s 4-3 win over the Knoxville Smokies at Toyota Field.
Fontenelle entered his at-bat in the bottom of the eighth needing a double for the cycle and, on a 1-2 pitch, he drove an AJ Puckett pitch into the left-center gap to finish the feat. The cycle was also the first of his career.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, Rocket City (2-1) took the lead in the second on a Fontenelle solo home run. Later in the inning, with two outs, Myles Emmerson added a two-run home run, his second of the year, to put the Trash Pandas up 3-2.
Emmerson became the first Southern League player with two home runs in 2025 and is tied for the league lead with three extra-base hits.
The ball flew on a cool evening in Madison, with Knoxville (1-2) catcher Pablo Alliendo tying the game with a solo home run to right field.
Jared Southard, Camden Minacci, Jose Fermin (W, 1-0), and Brady Choban (S, 1) combined for 5 shutout innings to finish the game, striking out six and walking none. Over the first three games, the Trash Pandas bullpen has allowed four runs over 17.1 innings.
Fontenelle’s leadoff double in the eighth set up a Sam Brown RBI single up the middle to push the Trash Pandas back on top for good, 4-3.
When Fontenelle broke his fibula May 7, he was off to a hot start, including four straight games with an extra-base hit from April 27 to May 1.
In Tuesday’s win, Brown was 2-for-3 with an RBI, run, and walk, and Nelson Rada finished 2-for-4 in the 10-hit night for Rocket City.
The second straight win marked another comeback victory after erasing a 6-0 deficit in Saturday’s 8-6 win over Chattanooga. However, the first inning continues to be a struggle for Rocket City pitchers, having given up eight runs in the first frame over the first three games.
The Trash Pandas and Smokies will have a quick turnaround with game two of the six-game series this morning at Toyota Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 11:05 a.m., with righthander Joel Hurtado getting his first start of the season against Knoxville righty Grant Kipp.
Today is the first of three Education Day games with students from around the region on hand. Gates open at 9:30 a.m.
Tickets are available starting at $8 for general admission and $16 for field-level seats. They can be purchased online at tptix.com, in person during regular business hours at the Wicks Family Foundation Box Office or by calling 256-325-1403, option 1.
For group tickets, visit trashpandasgroups.com or call the group sales department at 256-325-1403, option 2. The team’s 20-game mini-plans are also available at tptix.com.
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