The Salisbury baseball team had not practiced or played on an actual baseball field during four weeks of practice. When the season finally got under way Monday, the Falcons looked pretty comfortable for their first time on the diamond this season.

Evan Kulig and Chad Cooperman combined for a two-hitter as the Falcons beat host Wilson 3-1.

"I'm very happy with the way we came out," said Falcon head coach Mike Pochron. "Defensively we made some nice plays. We got some timely hits. I'm very happy with our pitching, obviously."

Kulig allowed a run in the first inning, but after giving up a hit and two walks to the first three batters, he retired 10 of the next 12 before Cooperman entered the game to start the fifth.

Cooperman, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, struck out five over three innings and put down the first seven hitters he faced before an error in the seventh allowed a Wilson runner to reach base.

Kulig could have finished the game, but Pochron wanted to keep all of his arms available during a busy week.

"We have three other games scheduled this week," he said. "We come back Thursday, Evan would be able to go Thursday and Cooperman doesn't need any rest. I'm just conserving arms according to the pitching rules. And [Cooperman] is not a bad guy to have as your hammer. He's tough."

The Falcons were behind until Kulig reached base to lead off the fourth inning and scored on Cooperman's single to tie the game.

They made it 2-1 in the fifth inning when Chase Rogers scored on Cooperman's infield single.

Salisbury tacked on one more in the sixth inning. CJ Tocci got a bunt-single with one and went to second on an overthrow. He scored on Rogers' single to left field for a 3-1 lead.

The Falcons took a few innings to get to Wilson pitcher Phil Pierfy, who struck out seven batters, including the first three he faced. Salisbury cranked out eight hits after the first-inning struggles.

"Phil's an experienced pitcher in the league and he's given us a lot of trouble in the past," said Cooperman. "A lot of us have seen him and we know him pretty well. We finally got to him once we adjusted."

Salisbury had runners on base in every inning but the first and last. Senior outfielder Mike Palmer led the Falcon offense, going 3-for-4 against Pierfy.

The team was scheduled to continue the busy week with a game at Northern Lehigh on Tuesday followed by another at home against Pen Argyl on Thursday and then a make-up game at Whitehall on Saturday. They're slated for another four-game week next week as well.

While the schedule might take a toll on most teams pitchers, the players are happy to finally get out of the gym and onto a field.

"It was exciting getting out here finally," said Cooperman. "We missed four games last week. We've been itching to get outside and get on a field. I thought we played pretty well considering it's the first time we've actually been on a field."