The Mudcats, battling a recent offensive slump, nearly rallied from a seven-run hole in the late innings Saturday evening but came up short, 10-9, against the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in Five County Stadium.

"There's no question it's a heartbreaker," Carolina manager Matt Raleigh said. "We fought, and that's all I can ask from my team -- to go out there and give everything they've got.

"They did that, and we came up one hit short. But there's nothing to hang their heads about in that game -- absolutely nothing."

The Mudcats (17-13), losing their fourth straight and eighth in its last 10 games, fell three games being the Diamond Jaxx (20-10) and Hunstville in the Double-A Southern League North Division professional baseball standings.

Starting pitcher Brett Sinkbeil (1-3) took the loss for Carolina, allowing a season-high 10 hits and seven runs. He allowed three runs in the first three innings, including a home run to Marshall Hubbard in the first on the third at-bat of the game and an RBI triple to Mike Saunders in the third.

Hubbard and Saunders proved nearly unstoppable for the Diamond Jaxx, combining for six runs, eight RBIs and six hits -- four for extra bases, including a home run each.

"(Carolina) has real good pitching, and we just capitalized on a couple mistake pitches," West Tenn manager Scott Steinmann said. "We just kind of rolled with it a little bit, and to our guys' credit, they stuck with the plan and ran a couple crooked numbers up there."

The Mudcats, however, down 8-1 in the seventh, rallied with five straight two-out hits, leading to five runs. Lee Mitchell hit a bases-loaded, two-run single up the middle, and Manuel Mayorson, who broke up Ketchner's no-hitter in the fourth, followed with a double off the left field wall that scored two.

Kris Harvey then pulled Carolina within 8-6 on a line drive up the middle, breaking his 0-for-38 slump.

"It felt good," said Mayorson, who went 3 for 5 with two doubles. "We put the ball in play, saw the ball good and were being aggressive."

After Saunders' eighth-inning homer stretched the Jaxx' lead to 9-6, Mayorson doubled off the left field wall to lead off the ninth. Three batters, later Lorenzo Scott stroked another double to left, and Chris Coghlan's two-out RBI single brought Carolina within one with Cameron Maybin, one of the Florida Marlins' top prospects, batting.

Maybin came perilously close to completing the comeback win when he ripped a shot down the right-field line, squeezing the foul ball between the foul pole and stands. But West Tenn reliever Mumba Rivera came right back and struck out Maybin on a checked swing, giving the Diamond Jaxx their eighth win on their 10-game trip.

"When they start getting that one hit, two hits, then another guy gets on base, you could just see their confidence grow," Steinmann said. "They're a good-hitting team, and they just got hot right at the end of our series and gave us a little scare. ..."

"They were one swing away," he added. "And that's what this game's about -- playing in situations like that and seeing who comes up on top."

The Mudcats, off Sunday, aim to ride their 14-hit breakout into their five-game series in Jacksonville (Fla.), beginning this morning at 11:05.

"I think without a doubt it's a chance for us to turn it around and gain some momentum," Raleigh said. "We've struggled the last 10 games or so, and they pumped out 14 hits tonight and battled to the end. We came up short but, for me, that can help our team a lot more (than a mediocre win). ...

"It's as good a loss as you can have, if there's such a thing," he added. "But it showed me a lot tonight."

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