One late-inning swing drastically changed the landscape of last Wednesday's Catasaugua vs. Salisbury softball game.

After falling behind 6-1 in the top of the third inning, the Falcons erased that deficit with two runs in the bottom half and three more in the fifth, tying it at six runs apiece.

But after a scoreless fifth, one swing of the bat put the Rough Riders back on top for good. Catasauqua's Jordon Dardas blasted a two-out, three-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Rough Riders (8-2 overall; 7-1 in Colonial League) a 9-6 lead, a margin they would go on to win by after the Falcons (3-10 overall; 1-8 in Colonial League) were held to just one hit and no runs in the last three innings.

"We came back from a 6-1 deficit to tie it and one pitch...," said Covely. "It's tough we had a couple errors and stuff.

"It was a shot. That was a no brainer. That was gone."

The Falcons recorded the first Rough Rider out in that decisive sixth inning. But an infield error and walk had runners on first and second with one out. Following an infield pop-out, it looked as if the Falcons would survive the inning unscathed.

The Rough Riders, however, had other plans.

"They easily could have quit," said Covely. "You're down 6-1 against a solid team. They were first in the division and only had one or two losses.

"Our record doesn't show the heart that these kids are showing."

Thayla Creswell, who went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a RBI, got the Falcon rally started. She started the third inning with a single to left center field, and Meghan Williams lined a single to center two batters later. Both later scored in the inning to cut the deficit to 6-3.

That momentum continued into the fourth as Paige Ackerman, Jenna Keet, and Creswell all reached base to start the inning. Following Ackerman scoring on wild pitch during Creswell's at bat, Creswell's single scored Keet to make it 6-5 Rough Riders. Williams grounded out two batters later, but Creswell came home from third to tie it up.

Against one of the North Division's top teams, the Falcons never gave up, even after falling behind by five runs early.

"I think that's his No. 2 [pitcher Kortney Kunkle] that he [Catasauqua head coach Robert Thomas] threw," said Covely. "And to see that he had to bring in his No. 1 [Alexis Ayache] is good for me."

Melissa Kugler pitched the full seven innings for the Falcons, giving up 10 hits and nine runs (six earned). She also had two strikeouts and two walks.

Monday's results against Palmerton were not available at time of press. The Falcons will host Northern Lehigh on Wednesday at 4 p.m.