Northwestern Lehigh battery mates Jesse Neupauer and Evan Fatzinger came up big recently as the Tigers put together a five-run inning and grabbed a 7-3 win over Palmerton.

The win over the Blue Bombers came in the middle of a three-game set last week that were all won by Northwestern.

An issue for the Tigers this season has been coming up with a big hit in key spots.

Fatzinger, a freshman, came up with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and hit a hard ground ball through the infield. The hit brought home Jake Carson and Devin Rex.

Cannon Fitch came up with runners on second and third and lined a two-run single to left that put the Tigers up 7-3.

“He threw a pitch right where I wanted it, middle and a little in, and I pulled a nice line drive right in the gap there,” said Fatzinger of his go-ahead single. “It was just what we needed.”

Neupauer’s contribution came on the mound.

The first three hitters in the Palmerton lineup gave the sophomore some problems as they collected four hits against him, but the rest of the lineup went hitless in 18 at-bats.

The first run of the game for Palmerton scored without a ball getting out of the infield, but Neupauer recorded his first two strikeouts of the game to work out of further trouble.

The Tigers put up unearned runs in the second and third innings before their five-run sixth inning.

“Early in the game I was just trying to find the spots to hit,” said Neupauer. “I like to work to certain spots and see what the umpire is calling. I always prefer to work outside when I can.

“I have to give a shout out to Devin (Rex). He was really strong on third base and made a lot of plays out there. I know that if I throw it and hit my spots, even if they hit the ball, then obviously my defense will help and pick me up.”

In 23 innings this season, Neupauer has 29 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.83 for Northwestern.

Fatzinger, a freshman who took over the catching duties this season, took a few weeks to adjust to varsity baseball.

“I wasn’t really feeling like myself,” said Fatzinger. “I was hitting at home, hitting up here at the field, and started to feel more like myself again and started swinging the bat much better.”

“He’s been doing a fantastic job,” said Tiger head coach Brian Polaha. “Defensively, I couldn’t ask for more, he’s been great. We have to give this guy credit.

“He’s a freshman and we’re defending district champs and have high expectations. Just the fact that he is able to handle the pitching staff is a big deal. Even with his slow start, it didn’t affect his attitude or his work ethic, and it certainly didn’t affect his defense.”

Northwestern bookended the win over the Blue Bombers with a 12-8 win against Palisades and a 6-4 win in eight innings at Jim Thorpe.

Rex came through with another timely hit to beat Jim Thorpe when he singled in the top of the eighth to drive in two runs.

While the top of the order did some damage against Northwestern, their top of the order has been pacing the offense.

The first three hitters – Fitch, Ethan Konyak, and Cole Dynda – hit a combined .464 (13-for-28) last week with seven runs scored and nine RBI. Fitch also hit his first home run of the season. Fitch and Dynda have both driven in 11 runs while Konyak has knocked in 10 on the year.

On the mound, Dynda kept his pitch count low against Jim Thorpe and pitched all eight innings. He also threw two shutout innings in relief against Palmerton.