CLEAR LAKE — If Jess Howard has learned anything about her Webster City softball team, it’s that it can never be counted out.

For the third time in as many North Central Conference contests, the Lynx rallied from behind Monday night, this time at the expense of Clear Lake, 5-2.

Winners of four consecutive contests, WCHS (6-2, 3-0 NCC) trailed 1-0 entering the sixth inning. The Lynx scored twice to briefly take the lead before Clear Lake (2-1, 1-1 NCC) knotted it in the bottom of the frame.

But WCHS had the answer in the seventh with an additional three runs.

“We had girls step up for us,” Howard, the veteran WCHS head coach, said. “We did a good job of putting the ball in play and for six innings they made a lot of good plays. (In the seventh inning) we were aggressive on the bases and that’s what we needed to be able to score.”

Taylor McKinney ripped an RBI double down the left-field line to key the seventh-inning outburst. Alayna Finucan, the No. 9 hitter in the order, opened the frame with a base hit and scored what turned out to be the winning run. Zoey Woodle and McKinney both scored as well to give Lynx pitcher Jenna Miller some room to breath in the bottom of the seventh.

Clear Lake didn’t make it easy in its last at bat and put two runners aboard, but Miller was the beneficiary of several clutch defensive plays, including a diving catch by left fielder Kelly Stoakes on a liner off the bat of Lions’ lead-off stick Julia Merfeld.

“We had some really big plays from our defense, especially in the seventh inning,” Howard said. “The girls are doing a great job of making good decisions with the ball whether it’s offensively or defensively.”

Clear Lake out hit WCHS 6-5. Macy Mixdorf found the gap for a triple for the Lions.

Woodle went 2 for 4 and scored two runs in the win. Tatum Goings singled in a run in the sixth inning.

WCHS will return home Wednesday evening to take on Fort Dodge St. Edmond at 7:30 p.m.

Webster City 5, Clear Lake 2

Monday at Clear Lake

Web City 000 002 3 — 5 5 4

Cl. Lake 000 011 0 — 2 6 3

Jenna Miller and Kaitlynn Seeley. Ashlyn Fread, Rachel Thornton (3), Alivia Hauge (6), Thornton (7) and Kaylee Nosbisch. WP — Miller. LP — Thornton. Multiple hits — WC: Zoey Woodle. 2B — WC: Taylor McKinney. 3B — CL: Macy Mixdorf. RBI — WC: McKinney, Tatum Goings; CL: Mikayla Vanderploeg.