Austin Yanek walked up to the plate in the seventh inning knowing that it could be the last at-bat of his high school career.

But as one of just two seniors on the Northwestern baseball team, Yanek wasn't ready for that moment just yet.With runners on second and third and two outs in Monday's District 11 Class AAA pigtail game against No. 9 seed Wilson, Yanek drove a single toward the Warriors' infield that brought home Tyler Schreiner and Taylor Breininger for the 6-5 walk-off victory for the No. 8 Tigers at Northwestern High School. Yanek's first-pitch hit capped off a comeback for a Tiger squad that trailed 5-3 heading into the seventh."I told myself there was no way I'm ending my career," Yanek said."I knew he's been throwing about 75 percent first-pitch strikes. I was like see the first pitch strike, it's right there, [and] I'll just swing at it."Facing a two-run deficit after Wilson scored a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings, the Tigers were left with six out to keep their season alive. They waited until the final three to put together any serious type of threat.Nick Rodriguez opened the seventh with a ground-rule double to deep center field. After Collin Breidinger's grounder to shortstop advanced Rodriguez to third base, Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch that ended Schreiner's at-bat with a seven-pitch walk."My mindset was to get on because I know we can all pick each other up and we needed base-runners," Rodriguez said. "The only way we're going to score runs is by getting people on base."Taylor Breininger followed up Schreiner's walk with one of his own, and pitch-hitter Jordan Storm moved the runners with his groundout to third. That set up Yanek to produce one of the biggest hits of his high school career, and the throw home to stop the game-winning run looked to be on target before taking a hop over the catcher's head."He put the ball in play and that's big," head coach Len Smith said. "That's the first thing. He's come a long way in that regard as the season has progressed."The Tigers have grown accustomed to turning it on late in games in recent weeks. The same script was visible on Monday.While the Tigers recorded two hits and two walks in the seventh alone, their bats weren't as alive in previous innings. They recorded four total hits in the first six frames, but six walks and two hits-by-pitch gave Northwestern base-runners frequently.However, nine runners left on base kept the Tigers fighting from behind for much of the evening. Runners were left on second and third base on three separate occasions."It seems like we like to keep the games close," Rodriguez said. "We've been in a lot of one-run games this year. It's good to come up on the winning side, especially in districts."Rodriguez pitched the final 1 innings for the Tigers in relief of starter Josh Williamson, who allowed five runs on eight hits. Rodriguez's performanceone hit and two strikeoutsrewarded him with the win."I just needed to come in and throw strikes," Rodriguez said. "Even though I let up the one run, I was a little upset about that, but I know we have good hitting and we can still score runs."The Tigers wasted no time in getting some early offense with a run in the first of a Rodriguez RBI-double that scored Brady Mengel.The Warriors, however, responded with three runs in the top of the second. Four straight hits to start off the frame, including a two-run single from Skyler Heft put the Warriors in front 3-1 and would lead until the seventh.The Tigers will advance to Wednesday's quarterfinals where they will face the tournament's No. 1 seed in Pottsville at 4;30 p.m.Wilson 030 011 0 - 5 9 1N'wwestern 110 100 3 - 6 6 3Rodriguez and Cintron; Williamson, Rodriguez (6) and C. Breidinger. W - Rodriguez. L - Rodriguez.