Fight is a word that Northwestern softball coach Josh Zimmerman preaches to his team. He wants them to fight during every pitch and every at-bat of every game.

On Monday, the Tigers needed every pitch and every at-bat.Trailing 4-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, Northwestern pulled to within a run, but was down to its final out.That's when Ashley Sisco delivered a clutch, bases loaded hit to score a pair of runs and give the host Tigers a 5-4 Colonial League victory over Palmerton."I knew that we needed this win bad because we were coming off of a loss last game," said Sisco. "I'm just glad I was able to come through for the team when they needed me most. I felt really good bouncing back because I didn't play well our last game."Northwestern fought back from a pair of two-run deficits late in the game. The Tigers came back from down 2-0 in the sixth before having to rally from the 4-2 deficit in the seventh."We put ourselves in those situations with some mental breakdowns," Zimmerman said on the deficits. "But there's no quit in this team. The girls keep battling all the way, and they believe that they're never out of a game."You can't teach that. It's something I'm glad our girls have, that fight and will to win."It looked for a while that either team could win with just one run.The game was scoreless through the first five innings, as starting pitchers Emily Akelaitis of Northwestern and Alexis Merkel of Palmerton were dealing early.But in the top of the sixth, the Blue Bombers (3-2 overall, 2-2 CL) finally broke through.One-out singles by Paige Frantz and Baylee Guedes put runners on first and second and Sam Shupp smashed a double to clear the bases.The Tigers (3-1) quickly got two back in the bottom of the inning.Brooke Wehr led off with a single and stole second. Akelaitis followed with an RBI single and then scored the tying on a Bomber error.The Bombers came right back and took the lead in the top of the seventh.Lindsey Shimko led off with a basehit and came home on an RBI double by Kailah Altemose. Paige Frantz added a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.Northwestern's winning rally in the seventh started with a one-out walk and an error that put runners on second and third. Avery George brought home a run with a single to cut the deficit to 4-3.A ground out and an intentional walk then set the stage for Sisco, who blooped the game-winning hit between the first baseman and right fielder."I don't care how hard I hit it, as long as I hit it," said Sisco. "I was just focused on getting a hit and helping the team win."It was a tough way to lose for Palmerton."We've been hitting the ball well lately, but it took us a few innings to get going today," said Bomber coach Robert Hock. "Hats off to them for coming back both times. They answered and that's a credit to them, they're a good team. We just need to move on from this one."ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THINGS ... Northwestern was coming off a one-run loss in their last game to Southern Lehigh.TIME TO RECOVER ... Palmerton has two games in the next three days to get the sour taste of this loss out of its mouth.Palmerton 000 002 2 - 4 8 3Northwestern 000 002 3 - 5 7 1Merkel, Altemose (5) and Shupp; Akelaitis and Wehr. W - Akelaitis. L - Altemose.