Northwestern wanted a rematch with its new nemesis. And the Tigers earned it by beating Bangor 9-3 in a Colonial League quarterfinal game Saturday at Limeport Stadium.

Northwestern belted 10 hits while getting solid pitching from ace Josh Williamson to erase an early Slater lead and advance to Tuesday's semifinals."I was struggling to find the zone in the beginning," said Williamson. "But once we put a couple runs on the board you have confidence to throw strikes and let your defense do the work. Once I was able to do that it made it a lot easier."The senior allowed three hits, two walks and hit two Slater batters in five innings before Brandon Eden came on in the sixth to finish off the game.Williamson pitched with a lead for most of the game.Bangor (11-10, 11-7) got a run in the first inning on a hit, a walk and a sacrifice fly, but that lead was short-lived.Northwestern's Tyler Schreiner got the first inning started with a a one-out single to left field that included a one-base Bangor error. Brady Mengel ripped a ground ball down the third-base line to drive in Schreiner and tie the game.Mengel came home on Williamson's two-out single for a 2-1 Tiger lead.The Slaters' got a run on a single, two hit batters and a throwing error in the third inning, but the Tigers (15-6, 12-5) were again quick to answer.Jake Augustus singled to lead off the Northwestern third. He scored on a Schreiner (2-for-4) single get the lead back at 3-2.The Tigers extended their lead with six hits over the next two innings."In the beginning of the year we really hit the ball," said Mengel, who went 2-for-4 with four runs scored. "In the middle of the season it started to slow down a little bit. Now we're starting to pick back up today. It's a big momentum builder."Nick Rodriguez walked to start the Tigers' fourth inning. Taylor Breininger's infield single put runners at the corners. Both scored on errors for a 5-2 Northwestern lead.The Tigers sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth inning. Mengel led off with a single, got to third on a Jordan Storm bunt and scored on a double by Williamson (2-for-4). A walk to Rodriguez and a Nico Fager single loaded the bases with one out.Tyler Wiik knocked in a run with a single, another scored on a wild pitch and Northwestern's final run came home on a single by Augustus (2-for-4) for a 9-2 lead.Eden entered the game and allowed a run on two hits in the sixth inning, but ended the threat with a strike out and retired the Slaters in order in the seventh.Veteran head coach Len Smith will have all his Tiger pitchers available for Tuesday's game."That was our plan," he said. "We thought if we could get five out of Josh and get him out of there, that makes all our pitchers eligible. We want to have every pitcher available because there's no tomorrow in the tournament."Northwestern badly wants to avenge its two late-season losses to Salisbury. The first came on April 21, a 10-0 mercy-rule defeat when the Tigers were 9-2 in the league and more than two games up on the Falcons for first place. The next came last Monday, 8-4 at Northwestern."It was two games late in the year and we didn't play well in either of them," said Williamson, a senior. "We certainly don't want to lose to Salisbury three times in a season.""The first game," said Mengel. "We didn't play up to our capability. The second time we played them we had a lead and it got away from us. The third time is a charm. We've got to make it count."In the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Limeport, No. 5 seed Palisades beat No. 4 Notre Dame (Green Pond), 1-0 to earn a match up with top-seeded Saucon Valley in Tuesday's nightcap at Limeport. Northwestern and Salisbury will play the opener at 4 p.m.Bangor 101 001 0 - 3 5 2Northwestern 201 240 x - 9 10 2Jones, Ernst (5), Benton (5) and Field; Williamson, Eden (6) and Wiik. W - Williamson. L - Martino.