Clark, Mudcats outlast Mountcastle, Keys

Trent Clark is fed up.
"I was tired of getting teeth my kicked in for a month and I decided it was time to turn it around," he said.

Box score
Unfortunately for Class A Advanced Frederick, Sunday was the day the Brewers' No. 6 prospect started his about-face.
The 20-year-old outfielder went 5-for-6 with a double, three RBIs, two runs scored and a clutch stolen base to lead Carolina to a 10-8, 12-inning win over the Keys, who had their own highly touted prospect put on a show. Ryan Mountcastle went 4-for-5 with a homer, a sacrifice fly and four RBIs.
"I thought I did a pretty good job getting the barrel to the ball. I felt pretty confident up there. It's not the result we wanted, but it's baseball and we've got tomorrow and we've got 120 other games," the fourth-ranked Orioles prospect said.
The four-hour affair came two days after Frederick stunned Carolina with a dramatic 11-9 comeback victory to open the four-game weekend set.
"It was definitely [one of the crazier games ] this year. We know this team," Clark said of the Keys. "They swing at will and they're resilient. They showed us they're resilient the first night in town and they showed us today. It was nice that our team was able to show some grit and come out with the win."
The 2015 first-rounder used his first career five-hit game to boost his batting average 59 points to .239. It was his first multi-hit effort since last Aug. 22, when he went 3-for-5 for Class A Wisconsin en route to a .231 Midwest League batting average.
"I'm trying to not let this year be like last year, which I could come up with lots of excuses for, but what it comes down to is I kind of played bad," he said. "Maybe that comes with playing your first full year every day, but I'm tired of getting my teeth kicked in and it's time to fight back.
"After not having any multiple-hit games for a month, of course five in a day feels really good, especially hitting the ball hard and being rewarded for it with a hit. Of course, that gives you something to build on."

The left-handed hitter lined an opposite-field RBI double in the second, singled to right in the fourth and delivered a two-run single up the middle during a five-run fifth. In the 10th, he lined a one-out hit to right, but nothing came of it. Two innings later, Brewers No. 25 prospect Jake Gatewood slugged a go-ahead homer with Clark on deck and just one thing on his mind.
"Just trying to extend [the lead]. One is definitely not enough against this team," the Texas high school product said.
Clark collected his fifth knock of the game, took second on a wild pitch and, after Luis Aviles flied out, Clark was determined to move up another 90 feet. 
"[I knew we had to] get that sac fly," he said. "Getting to third became the priority, and the pitcher knew what he was doing."
He stole the base, giving him four thefts on the season and putting him one behind teammates Aviles and Troy Stokes Jr. for the Carolina League lead.
"It's fun, just because we all talk about chasing each other in bags," Clark said. "I'm chasing Luis and Stokesy, so it was good to let them know I'm coming after them, especially in an important game situation where it does something for the team." 
Isan Díaz, the Brewers' No. 5 prospect, homered to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
Mountcastle was at the center of the Keys' comeback bid. They responded to the five-run Mudcats fifth with two in the sixth and two on his dinger in the seventh. 
"That's one thing we've learned, just through the first 20 or so games -- as a team, we haven't given up," he said. "The other day, we were down five or six in the eighth and we came back to win, so it's cool to know we're not going to give up. All the guys were all juiced up [after the homer]. It brought us back to just a run down and we came back and tied it. We fought hard, even though we didn't get the end result we wanted."
Mountcastle also was responsible for the game-tying hit in the eighth, a single to left on a 1-2 pitch from right-hander Nate Griep.
"I was just trying to get the barrel to ball, especially with two strikes on me," the Florida native said. "Put it in play is all I was trying to do. That was a pretty cool spot."
Mountcastle extended his hitting streak to six games and boosted his average to .323. It was the third time in 24 games this season he's had at least three hits.
"I hit the ball hard and found some holes today," he said. "I felt good up there, but I didn't really change anything from yesterday to today."