MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Rochester Red Wings were six outs from elimination Thursday night. Instead, they left AutoZone Park as International League champions for the first time in 29 years.

Andrew Pinckney hit a game-tying RBI double in the eighth inning, and Cortland Lawson followed with a single that scored Pinckney, lifting Rochester to a 3-2 victory over the Memphis Redbirds in the deciding game of the best-of-three International League Championship Series. It is the franchise’s 20th league title and its first as the Washington Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate.

For manager Matt LeCroy, who has led Rochester through six seasons, the celebration belonged as much to the city as it did to the players.

An eighth-inning turnaround

Rochester took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Riley Adams’ RBI single. Memphis tied it on Zach Levenson’s solo home run in the fifth, then moved ahead 2-1 in the seventh. With two outs and nobody on in the top of the eighth, Leandro Pineda doubled to start the rally. Pinckney doubled him home, and Lawson’s single scored Pinckney for the lead Rochester would not surrender.

Pinckney said he had chased two sliders in the dirt before getting a pitch he could drive. His goal was modest: stay through the ball, put it in play and bring home the tying run. “I just wanted to stay through it and try and just hit a single and try and score the run,” he said. “Got a double out of it.”

Lawson had not expected to play. He entered after Sam Petersen was hurt, then found himself batting with the league title at stake. Looking for a fastball, Lawson said he was “just trying to find some grass,” knowing Pinckney’s speed could turn a small hit into the go-ahead run.

“This is special for me. We’ve had some tough seasons.”

Photo: Matt LeCroy / Joe Territo Photography

Pitching finished the job

Starter Zak Kent opened with three hitless innings, while Trey Lipscomb collected three hits for Rochester. After the eighth-inning rally, Kyle Nicolas and Eddy Yean helped protect the one-run lead, with Yean finishing the game.

LeCroy called it a “total team effort,” pointing to players who arrived from Double-A as the roster changed throughout the season. He also credited the bullpen, which he said had been a strength all year. Following Rochester’s 15-4 loss in Game 2, LeCroy said the relievers the club had relied on in high-leverage situations were fresh for the finale.

LeCroy said Petersen had a lower-abdomen issue and was likely to be out, though the club still had to determine how it would fill the roster spot. He also said Jarlin Susana was held back in Game 3 and could pitch Saturday.

A title 29 years in the making

Rochester last won the International League championship in 1997. The Red Wings reached this year’s series by winning the league’s second half at 45-30 and finished the regular season 90-58. They beat Memphis 4-3 in Tuesday’s opener, lost Game 2 by a 15-4 score, then rallied to win the title Thursday.

The championship is Rochester’s first under the current International League playoff format and its first during its affiliation with Washington. In the team’s press release, the organization credited LeCroy and his staff for guiding the club through the season’s roster changes and thanked the Nationals for supplying talent throughout the year.

LeCroy kept returning to the people who had stayed with the Red Wings during the difficult seasons. Rochester’s fans and front office, he said, “had my back,” and delivering a championship for them made the night especially meaningful.

One Game Left: Vegas or Bust

The Red Wings have one game left. They will face the Oklahoma City Comets, champions of the Pacific Coast League, in the winner-take-all Triple-A National Championship Game on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Las Vegas Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 p.m. ET.

Lawson, already thinking about that trip, put the next objective simply: “Get to Vegas any way possible.”