Salisbury Press

Salisbury head coach Mike Pochron is aware that the Falcons’ bats may struggle at times. It’s been evident at times throughout their first seven games.

But it was never more evident than Saturday’s game against Notre Dame (Green Pond). It didn’t help that the Falcons faced one of the league’s top pitchers.

While Salisbury’s season opener against Allen was postponed, the rest of its first week of Colonial League play was a bit of a roller coaster ride. And that’s to be expected early with limited practice time on the field together.

The Lady Falcons sit 2-2 in conference play after starting off this week with a tough 6-5 defeat against Wilson on Monday. Salisbury took care of business against Northern Lehigh (4-3) and Catasauqua (24-0) last week after rebounding from a 10-0 season-opening loss against Pen Argyl.

Several former Salisbury Township High School athletes have already begun spring sports at the college level.

Bloomsburg junior pitcher/infielder Chad Cooperman has been solid on the mound to open the spring season. He’s pitched in four games for the Huskies already, posting a 2-1 record with a save. The former Falcon has a 3.60 ERA and 26 strikeouts with just seven walks. Cooperman has pitched at least five innings in three of his four games, and is batting .133 with four RBIs in the early going.

Jack Reichenbach wasn’t just Salisbury’s top jumper last year. He was one of the top jumpers in the entire state.

While Reichenbach has since graduated and is now having a stellar track and field season at the University of Rhode Island, the jump events figure to be a strong point for Salisbury in 2019 once again.

The Falcons bring back a number of jumpers on both the boys and girls teams this spring.

Rob Benson thought last year was going to be a rebuilding season after losing a number of key pieces from Salisbury’s historic 2017 team. And it was.

But 2019 might be even more a rebuild for the long-term Falcon boys tennis head coach.

After finishing 4-9 last year in the Colonial League, Salisbury returns some of its key pieces from that season. But a number of them are switching positions as the upcoming spring season gets underway.

Head coach Mike Pochron is entering his 19th season leading the Salisbury baseball team.

The 2019 season might be his biggest challenge in nearly two decades.

Salisbury (11-10 overall; 9-9 in Colonial League) returned to the district tournament last spring after missing out on the playoffs for the first time in eight years in 2017. But much of last year’s team has graduated—including 10 regular rotation players— and that has left Pochron with a largely unproved bunch.

While there wasn’t a championship brought back to Salisbury’s trophy case last season, the Lady Falcons’ softball team took another step forward. The team’s 18 wins was the most in head coach Jeff Appleman’s tenure at Salisbury.

With the start of the 2019 season just days away, Salisbury is hoping to produce another successful campaign. And maybe even bring home some hardware this time.

Injuries are a part of all teams. The severity of those injuries can have a major impact on how a season can play out.

The Salisbury girls’ basketball team endured a number of injuries this past winter that played a large role in the Falcons’ 2018-19 season. The Falcons finished 3-14 in the Colonial League, beating Catasauqua twice and Saucon Valley late in the season.

Salisbury point guard Sean Snyder has been a three-year starter for head coach Jason Weaver. With 1:44 left to play in last week’s regular season finale against Southern Lehigh, Snyder walked off the court for the final time as a Falcon.

Snyder was the last of three Salisbury seniors to exit the floor and receive a standing ovation last Tuesday. And while the result—a 63-43 loss to the Spartans—officially eliminated the Falcons (8-14 overall; 5-12 in Colonial League) from playoff contention, it was a celebratory night for those in blue and white.

Sarah McGee nearly walked away from basketball after her playing days at Salisbury. She just wasn’t sure if she wanted to try to play in college.

But with encouragement from her family, she decided to give it a shot. And now she’s a key piece in Penn State Lehigh Valley’s successful winter campaign that still has goals left to obtain.