ZEBULON – Carolina Mudcats manager Matt Raleigh picked up the telephone in his office late Wednesday night, punched a handful of buttons, then leaned back in his chair.

"Another comeback win," he said. "Another amazing comeback win."

Yes, the Mudcats rallied to beat the Tennessee Smokies, 7-3, on Wednesday at Five County Stadium. And by this point, Raleigh and the rest of the coaching staff might as well go ahead and leave it to their players to save the biggest inning and the best performance for the end.

Only this time, the Mudcats did not wait until the end. Not the very end, at least. This time, they scored all their runs and grabbed the lead for good in the eighth inning, not the ninth.

And in the end, Raleigh and the players walked back toward the clubhouse with smiles and laughs, shaking their heads after so many rallies in so few days.

"We have a good team," shortstop Manuel Mayorson said. "You never know what's going to happen."

These Mudcats (15-5) are good. They are first in the Southern League North Division by three games over the Huntsville Stars. They have won 11 of their last 13 games. And they are only one win off the pace established by the 2003 Mudcats, a team that finished first in the division and won the league championship.

Thank good baseball and a lot of luck and late rallies.

On Saturday, the Mudcats (15-5) beat the Smokies (9-11) in the ninth inning after center fielder Cameron Maybin hit a pinch-hit two-run home run over the center field wall. On Tuesday, they beat the Smokies again in the ninth thanks to two walks, a sacrifice bunt and a throwing error.

And on Wednesday, the Mudcats turned in their most impressive comeback this season, a five-run rally with two outs in the eighth.

The inning started with a thud after second baseman Chris Coghlan struck out, Maybin walked and third baseman Gaby Sanchez struck out. The Mudcats trailed, 3-2. But then Maybin stole second and first baseman Andrew Jenkins singled him home to tie the game at 3-3. And catcher Brett Hayes singled to left and right fielder Lorenzo Scott walked to load the bases.

With a win on the line, Mayorson worked the count to 3-2, then laid off an outside fastball to draw the walk and score Jenkins from third base.

"I was waiting for a pitch I could drive," Mayorson said. "But the pitch was down and outside."

Then pinch-hitter Alberto Concepcion dropped a single into shallow right field to score Hayes and Scott, and the Mudcats stretched the lead to 7-3.

Just call it another Carolina Comeback for the Miracle Mudcats.

Or just call it "another amazing comeback win."

TENN 010 001 100 – 3 7 2

CAR 000 020 05x – 7 9 2

WP: Jeff Gogal (2-0, 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K); LP: Ed Campusano (1-2, 1 2-3IP, 1H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 2K).

2B: John Raynor (CAR); Doug Deeds (TENN); Issmael Salas (TENN).

Matt LaWell can be reached at 407-9952 or mlawell@coxnc.com