Down 6-0 in Sunday’s tournament finale against Portland, the Northwestern baseball team found itself on the verge of being swept in this weekend’s Spring Training Tournament in Phoenix.

But the Wildcats used solid relief pitching along with a three-run, inside-the-park home run by sophomore David Gresky to stage a dramatic late-inning comeback and pull out a 7-6 win.

The NU bullpen shut down the Portland offense, giving up no hits and no runs in the final five innings of the game. Freshman Evan Blesoff, who wasn’t fazed despite giving up what turned out to be the winning run in an 8-7 loss to Washington on Friday, threw three innings of relief.

“The loss didn’t affect me,” Blesoff said. “I was just glad to get in. I knew I pitched well on Friday. I was glad I got the chance to be in there again.”

Junior catcher Ken Padgett added a solo home run in the victory, and NU got a key two-run triple from Dan Pohlman.

Salvaging the lone win was huge, according to senior hurler Gabe Ribas.

“At the beginning of the season, expectations are high,” Ribas said. “It was really disheartening to lose the first three games. We played good baseball against some really good teams. It was important to get our confidence together and get out with a win.”

The Cats suffered two tough defeats in the tournament.

After dropping the first game of the weekend Thursday with a 5-1 loss to Portland.

NU rallied from a 7-2 deficit in the Friday loss. And Saturday the Cats lost a second game to Washington, 2-0, despite eight solid innings from senior Ryan Bos.

NU coach Paul Stevens was impressed with his team’s ability to rally from deficits.

“They came back when they were down,” Stevens said. “If that trait becomes a consistent norm, we are in for some good games this season.”

Senior designated hitter Todd Morgan said the Cats have a bright outlook if they continue to improve at this pace.

“Our record doesn’t show how well we played,” Morgan said. “We played better everyday and I’m very optimistic about the rest of the season.”