The words of Northwestern baseball coach Len Smith were a perfect summation of the Tigers' Colonial League clash against rival Northern Lehigh.

"That's why you play the game," he said of his team's 6-5, come-from-behind win on Tuesday.

Trailing 5-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Northwestern manufactured four runs and five hits, capped by Josh Williamson's game-winning RBI single to claim a remarkable 6-5 win.

"I tell the kids to never give up until that final out," said Smith. "We're very fortunate that the kids hung in there and battled back.

"They made the most of their opportunities there at the end and we just got some big hits and big plays and it carried us through. You just have to tip your hat to the kids; it's quite a tribute to them."

The dramatic seventh inning had it all, from Isaac Fatzinger starting the rally with a hit by pitch, to a Northern Lehigh throwing error, to a bloop single in right field.

The late-game heroics came just one day after the Tigers pounded out 11 hits in a convincing 10-0 win over league foe Palmerton in a game that ended in five innings.

While the dominating win was certainly satisfying, earning a hard-fought victory was just as rewarding.

"It's great for the team," said Williamson. "It's good to know that if you need to you can fight back. That's why you play all seven innings; that's why you don't give up in the beginning. That felt great, just knowing that we could come back like that."

Having that mentality is something Smith emphasizes to his team daily.

"We preach that we have to pick each other up," Smith said. "We stress that all the time. And you have to make the most of the opportunities.

"You're not going to be able to do it everyday, but hopefully we're starting to develop that mentality to have the confidence to be able to do that. Hopefully that will carry on as we move forward."

Northwestern (2-2, 2-1) was in an early hole because of a dominant pitching performance by Northern Lehigh starter Matt Egan, who pitched five solid innings, allowing only one run and three hits while notching three strike outs.

"He (Egan) just kept us off balance early. We couldn't hit him at all," Smith said. "And when we did, we didn't hit him very well."

The Tigers' three hits off Egan all came in the second inning, which was highlighted by Austin Yanek's RBI single, which put Northwestern up 1-0.

But Northern Lehigh (0-1, 0-1) appeared to seize control in the third, as the Bulldogs scored three runs, one on a Northwestern throwing error and two off the bats of Egan and Travis Nelmes.

Egan led the charge once again in the fourth, taking advantage of Nick Hoffer's lead-off single and stolen base to plate the speedy senior with a double in the gap.

But the Northern Lehigh offense sputtered after that, posting only three hits and one run of Northwestern relievers Jordan Storm and Nick Rodriguez over the final three innings.

"We were able to keep it close, and that's what you have to do," Smith said. "We just tried to stay close and have a chance at the end, and that's exactly what we did. And we made the most of it."

While undoubtedly disappointed with the outcome, Northern Lehigh coach Erv Prutzman saw what he needed to from his team to know he has a squad that can contend with any team in the Colonial League this season.

"Today, we saw that we can compete," he said. "This game was ours. They didn't win it; we lost it."