Brooklyn left-hander Mitchell Houck entered Tuesday night’s game in Lowell, Mass., as the Cyclones’ undisputed ace.

The 23-year-old Hollywood, Fla., native can thank the New York-Penn League’s most prodigious offense for making sure he left LeLacheur Park unbeaten after, by far, his worst outing of the summer.

Houck, who boasted a team-best 0.99 ERA, 26 strikeouts and an impressive 1.07 WHIP in his first five appearances, was pounded for seven earned runs on six hits and three walks over 3 2/3 dismal frames before a crowd of 4,892 Spinners fans.

As he departed the mound with the Cyclones down, 8-5, Houck had to be thinking his perfect 3-0 start to the campaign was over. But you can never count out manager Wally Backman’s Baby Bums.

Sparked by their feisty manager, the Cyclones used homers by shortstop Rylan Sandoval, third baseman Brian Harrison and highly touted prospect Cory Vaughn to power their way to a come-from-behind 12-9 victory, stunning the Spinners and forging a virtual first-place tie with Staten Island in the McNamara Division.

Brooklyn, which boasts the most doubles (55), triples (14), homers (19) and highest batting average (.284) on the 14-team circuit, got a huge boost from Vaughn’s game-tying two-run blast in the seventh inning. The Mets’ fourth-round pick in this year’s draft and the son of former Major League slugger Greg Vaughn continues to live up to some very high expectations.

Vaughn leads the NY-Penn with seven homers in his first 25 games as a professional. That’s seven more than current Mets first baseman and cleanup man Ike Davis hit during a 56-game stint on Coney Island just two summers ago.

Ironically, the Cyclones’ big bats weren’t necessary during their game-winning three-run rally in the ninth, though their looming presence likely kept Lowell hurlers from finding too much of the plate.

Sandoval, who belted his fourth homer of the year in the third, led off the final frame with a walk. Brooklyn spark plug Darrell Ceciliani, a Backman favorite, followed with his third hit of the night, a grounder up the middle that moved Sandoval to third.

Vaughn was hit by a pitch to load the bases before slugging first baseman Jeff Flagg watched reliever Wilson Matos (0-2) hurl a wild pitch to the backstop, allowing Sandoval to scamper home and snap the 9-9 deadlock.

Joe Bonfe added an RBI single and Will Cherry added a run-scoring groundout before closer Johan Figuereo capped a brilliant effort by the at-times-shaky Brooklyn bullpen with a 1-2-3 ninth for his team-high fifth save.

At 15-10, the Cyclones are just percentage points behind the Yankees (14-9) for the top slot in the McNamara. Brooklyn recovered from a season-high four-game slide by winning six of its last eight contests entering last night’s series opener against Mahoning Valley at MCU Park.

Ceciliani, who upped his batting average to a blistering .388, scored three runs to give him a league-best 25 on the young season. Harrison’s homer, a solo shot to left field in the sixth, was the first of his pro career. This year’s 13th-round pick out of Furman University in South Carolina made eight appearances for the Gulf Coast League Mets before joining the ’Clones last week.

As for Houck, the southpaw will likely get his shot at redemption this coming weekend when the Cyclones visit Tri-City for a three-game set.

Houck, who was sidelined by an injury for most of 2009, was New York’s 17th-round selection in the 2008 Draft out of Central Florida.

This, That and the Other Thing: The first 2,500 fans attending tonight’s game against Mahoning Valley at MCU Park will receive an “Italian Heritage� jersey, presented by New York Community Bank, as part of the club’s “Jersday Thursday� series.

The Italian Heritage jersey features the word Cyclones in Italian — “Cycloni� — across the chest of a royal blue body, in a button-down style. The Cyclones’ “BC� logo is in red, white, and green — the colors of the Italian flag — on the jersey’s left sleeve. A white number 10 (signifying the team’s 10th anniversary season on Coney Island) is on the front of the jersey.

In other professional sports news out of Brooklyn, New York Aviators coach Rob Miller announced that he is looking for some local talent to fill his roster for the upcoming season. The Aviators will host their open Free Agent Camp on the weekend of September 3 and 4 at Aviator Sports and Events Center. The camp will give up to 40 players the opportunity to showcase their skills in hopes of securing a position with the A’s for their 2010-11 inaugural campaign in the Federal Hockey League.

“We are looking for some untapped talent and will be inviting at least two players from this Free Agent Camp to our final Training Camp in October,� said Miller, who played for and coached the Brooklyn Aces.

All players must be 20 years of age or older to compete. The cost per player for the Camp is $150. Interested players should visit the A’s web site at www.newyorkaviators.com to download the Player Information Form and complete then return to the A’s office by Sept. 1, 2010.

The A’s will also host an invitation-only Training Camp later this year, in October, to finalize the Opening Night roster. Any questions regarding the Free Agent Camp should be directed to coach Miller by calling (718) 758-7585.

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