Close games and Northwestern softball have gone hand-in-hand this season.

Entering play Monday, the Lady Tigers had been in four extra-inning affairs, all of which were decided by two runs or less. The team also split two games that ended in regulation which were decided by the same margin.

Facing a Lehighton team that was coming off two dominant wins in which it averaged over 19 runs per game, it seemed unlikely that the Cardiac Cats could risk playing catch up once again.

Despite trailing early and staring at a tie late in the game, Northwestern produced another surge when it mattered most to claim a 4-2 non-league victory.

While satisfied with the win, coach Jen Horner knows her team needs to be more opportunistic on offense to avoid being in such situations.

"We left a lot of girls in scoring position early," she said, referencing runners stranded at third in each of the first three innings. "And that's been one of our issues lately, just taking advantage of those opportunities."

After struggling to cash in on scoring chances early on, the Lady Tigers (6-6) capitalized late, outscoring Lehighton 4-1 over the final three innings.

The catalyst in Northwestern's late rally was senior Kylee Bennett, who smoked a two-run single to score Claire O'Dea and Cailie Rehrig in the top of the sixth to snap a 1-1 tie.

"It was nice to get that hit, but it was all a team thing," said Bennett. "I'm just really glad we were able to pull it together, get some people on base and make the plays we needed to so I could be in that position."

The Lady Tigers scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Sunny Greenberg raced home on an O'Dea infield single.

While it may have taken the offense a few innings to get going, Northwestern starting pitcher Lydia Danner had no trouble finding her comfort zone from the outset.

Danner kept the Lady Tigers in the contest by never allowing more than one hit in an inning while striking out eight en route to a complete game victory, no small feat for a pitcher coming back from an injury.

"It can get intense at times," Danner said of returning in a game with little room for error. "But I know I have a good defense behind me. As long as I could get my pitches there, I knew I was going to be okay."

On the rare occasion that Danner didn't locate her pitches, Lehighton (3-6) took advantage.

Kayla Heffelfinger got the Lady Indians on the board in the fourth with an RBI single that scored Amanda Loudon to take a 1-0 lead.

Heffelfinger cut the deficit to 3-2 in the sixth when she drove in Allison Armbruster, but the sophomore was cut down at second trying to turn it into a double.

Lehighton had one more chance in the bottom of the seventh when Jocelyn Hunsicker smacked a two-out triple. But the Lady Indians were unable to make the most of the opportunity, as Hunsicker was stranded at third to end the game.

"We're just going one day at a time," Horner said. "One game, one pitch, one out and just trying to do our best out there, and trying to play the best ball we can."