MADISON, Alabama – Despite a quick start at the plate, the Rocket City Trash Pandas ended their homestand with a 7-3 loss to the Biloxi Shuckers on Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 5,148 at Toyota Field.

The visiting Shuckers clinched a series win with Sunday’s triumph, taking four of six from the Trash Pandas, including the final three games over the weekend. After Sunday’s home game, the Trash Pandas (8-7) hit the road to begin a six-game series against the Chattanooga Lookouts (8-7) on Tuesday night at 6:15 p.m.

Although he retired the first two batters of the game, Trash Pandas starter Mason Erla nearly didn’t escape the top of the first. A single and three walks gave the Shuckers a 1-0 lead before Erla induced a ground out from Carlos Rodriguez to end the inning.

The Trash Pandas responded in the bottom half against former teammate Adam Seminaris. Kyren Paris got the inning started by crushing Seminaris’ first pitch over the wall in right-center for a leadoff homer, his third home run of the season to tie the game at one. Later in the inning, Jeremiah Jackson’s RBI ground out plated Edgar Quero to put Rocket City ahead.

In the second, Aaron Whitefield led off with a walk and quickly stole second. Quero knocked him home with a sharp single to right, putting the Trash Pandas up 3-1.

Erla held the lead in the third and fourth. But in the fifth, the Shuckers turned the game around. Felix Valero singled and Isaac Collins walked to put two on with nobody out. Two batters later, Tyler Black hit a three-run homer to right, his fourth of the season, to put Biloxi up 4-3. The visitors wouldn’t relinquish the lead.

In his third start of the season, Erla (L, 1-1) took the loss after allowing four runs over five innings with four walks and two strikeouts. For Biloxi, Seminaris (W, 1-2) earned the win, giving up three runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts over five innings.

José Soriano was stellar out of the Trash Pandas bullpen, tossing three scoreless innings to keep the deficit at one. But in the ninth, the Shuckers broke the game open with a bases-clearing three-run double from Jackson Chourio against Ben Joyce to make it a 7-3 game.

Rocket City struggled against the Biloxi bullpen. In relief of Seminaris, relievers Ryan Middendorf and Darrell Thompson (S, 1) combined to throw four scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out seven to finish the win for the Shuckers.

Quero led the way for the Trash Pandas offensively, going 2-for-3 with a run scored, a walk, and an RBI. Flint also recorded two hits, both infield singles, while Paris hit the Trash Pandas’ second leadoff homer of the season in the loss.