Carmichael leads attack in L-Kings' romp

Whatever the expectations were for No. 9 hitter Christian Carmichael on Sunday, it seems safe to say that Clinton's backup catcher exceeded them.

Appearing in his 21st game of season, the Mariners prospect went 5-for-5 with two triples, a double, four RBIs and three runs scored. He accounted for more than a quarter of the LumberKings' hits, falling a homer shy of the cycle, in an 18-4 romp at Beloit.

"It's a great feeling," Carmichael said. "I mean, it just feels good because I don't get to play every day. I just come in and do my thing. It just feels great.

"Definitely the highlight of my career, I would say. I can't remember ever going 5-for-5, like even in Little League, nothing."

In limited playing time, the 2010 sixth-round pick is batting .366/.432/.521 with one homer and eight RBIs. His 50-game suspension for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program is two years behind him.

With Beloit leading, 2-1, Carmichael led off the third with a single and scored. The LumberKings kept raking and he came up again with two outs, delivering a bases-loaded triple before scoring again on Zach Shank's single to cap the eight-run rally.

As if one three-bagger weren't enough, Carmichael tripled to center in the fifth. Prior to Sunday, the Hawaii native had five career triples, one for each of his five professional seasons.

"They were both first-pitch fastballs," he said. "I was just trying to put the barrel on the ball, just trying to get some RBIs and help the team score, get the win. It kind of just all fell into place."

In the seventh, Carmichael doubled to right and crossed the plate on a homer by Shank, who wound up falling a triple short of the cycle.

Carmichael's final at-bat came in the eighth. Though he missed out on the cycle by hitting another single instead of a roundtripper, the 22-year-old wasn't too disappointed by his five-hit performance.

"Definitely in my last at-bat, I tried," he said. "It's another hit, so I'll take it."

The five hits were a career high for Carmichael and the most this season by a member of the LumberKings, who totaled 19. Moving forward, the backstop doesn't anticipate making many changes to his approach.

"I'm going to just try to stay consistent, just keep doing what I'm doing," Carmichael said, "because I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job. Just play it out from there."

Shank and Austin Wilson, the Mariners' No. 12 prospect, each recorded three hits, including a home run, and three RBIs. Justin Seager also went deep and drove in three runs.

"We all just put together great at-bats," Carmichael said. "My team did a great job. I'm proud of them, too."