Offense was always going to be at a premium for Northern Lehigh and Lehighton in Tuesday's non-league baseball game.

The Bulldogs opened the season with back-to-back losses where they were outscored 19-5. Though victorious in their opener, the Indians managed just one run.Nearly a week removed from its last game, Northern Lehigh appeared to have made the most of its time away from the field in a 10-3 win over Lehighton."Offensively, we did very well today. We had a bunch of key two-out hits," Bulldogs' head coach Greg King said of the team's approach in the 12-hit attack. "And that helped us score 10 runs today after only scoring five runs total in the first two games."It's all situational and depends on the pitcher. If they are throwing a first-pitch fastball, then you want to jump on it. If he's struggling, then maybe you want to wait for it. He (Lehighton starter Cody Scherer) did have a pretty good curveball, so we had to try to jump on the fastball when he threw it."Northern Lehigh's refined approach at the plate allowed it to nearly hit its season total for runs scored in the second inning, taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the frame.Michael Berger (2-for-4) drove in Gio Colon - who scored three times - with a two-strike single, Tehoah Guedes (2-for-3, one RBI) scored on a fielder's choice and Parker Dawe (1-for-2) crossed the plate on a dropped third strike to give the Bulldogs the early three-run lead.Though Lehighton responded with a run in the bottom of the inning when Donovan Buchinsky (2-for-3, two runs scored and a walk) scored on a passed ball, the Indians were never able to recover from the early deficit, as the Bulldogs piled on seven runs over the final five innings."Later in the game, they came up with a couple of big two-out hits, and that was the difference," said Lehighton head coach Brian Polaha. "We had opportunities in the early and middle portions of the game when we had the bases loaded and we didn't capitalize."I think we bailed their pitching out a little bit with quite a few first strike outs. But we have to get more hits."The Indians loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth when Damian Mele and Brody Hydro were hit with pitches and Collin Haupt reached on an error.But Northern Lehigh starter Chad Cederberg, who struck out two and allowed just three hits and one earned run, worked out of the jam in his final inning on the mound."He's a senior, and we're relying on him and other seniors for leadership," said King. "And he stepped up today and did his job."Cederberg also had a fine game at the plate, going 2-for-5 with an RBI. Austin Lancsak finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and a walk for the Bulldogs.Joe Heery finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs for Lehighton, while Scherer went 1-for-3.With two non-league games under its belt, Polaha knows his team will have to improve once it gets into Schuylkill League play."Our league is tough, so we know that we have to pick it up," he said. "We play some very good competition and we're going to need to play a heck of a lot better than this just to even be in games."We're still inexperienced and young, but we have to make improvements."HITMAN … Northern Lehigh leadoff hitter Zach Rex finished with a game-high three hits while also driving in one run.BIG BREAK … While Northern Lehigh was playing its first game since last Wednesday, Lehighton took the field for the first time since a 1-0 win over Palmerton in the season-opener on March 24.FOR THE RECORD ... The Bulldogs improve to 1-2. Lehighton falls to 1-1.No. Lehigh 031 003 3 - 10 12 1Lehighton 010 101 0 - 3 4 3Cederberg, Eitner (6) and Rudolph; Scherer, Mele (5), Whiteman (7) and Wagner. W - Cederberg. L - Scherer.