It is the bottom of the seventh inning in the final game of the Connie Mack season for the Salisbury Falcons. They are facing off against a fierce Stroudsburg club, who is currently leading. With the sun-setting on the diamond the Falcons loaded the bases with no outs.

As the next batter stepped to the plate the umpire made a decision that made the moods of the Salisbury fans darker than the sky above them. He called the game because of darkness.

That left Salisbury with the bases loaded with nobody out and also on the wrong end of a 7-6 battle. That bubble-bursting finish epitomized the Falcons' frustrating season.

The Salisbury Connie Mack squad fought through a tough season in the Lehigh Valley Connie Mack Baseball League that ended with them owning a 3-14 record. They earned their three victories against Freemansburg, Northampton and West Allentown.

First-year head coach Rich Fenstermaker he sees past three-win season and is focused on the fact that his team stayed competitive with good teams.

In addition to the one-run defeat at the hands of Stroudsburg, the Falcons also suffered crushing blows from Pocono Mountain East 8-7 and 5-2 from Moore Township. Both of those contests were decided in the bottom of the seventh inning.

"We lacked pitching," said Fentstermaker last week. "We had two or three guys that pitched a lot of innings for us. After a while they began to get worn out. That is what hurt us late in games."

The leading workhorse for Fenstermaker's Falcons was Chris Bishop, who was the team's main hurler and logged the most innings. That role earned Bishop a spot in the Lehigh Valley League All-Star game as one of Salisbury's representatives along with outfielder-turned-shortstop Alex Kubinec. They weren't the only Falcons flying high either as Mike Palmer and Chad Tocci, who were the top hitters for the squad, represented Salisbury at the Connie Mack state all-star game.

Experience was another area of need for this year's squad, but Fenstermaker is certain that they got plenty of it.

"The kids got a lot of experience this season," he said. "They all got to play in almost every single game. I had a lot of kids try out new positions that they wanted to. We all learned a lot."

That experience will go a long way for Fenstermaker and his team as every player on this summer's roster, except for one, is eligible to return in 2014. A campaign in which Fenstermaker is sure will be more successful for his team.