Salisbury coach Mike Pochron had question marks about his team’s hitting prior to the season.

Through two games, those concerns are still very much alive with no apparent answer.

Despite six runs in the third inning, Salisbury (1-1) blew a five-run lead and Catasauqua (1-1) rallied with two runs in the seventh to secure a 7-6 victory last week at Sheckler Elementary School. Those six runs on five hits can be a bit misleading, however, as all but one of those hits came in that big third frame.

“That was my concern to begin with, and it’s coming to fruition,” Pochron said. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about, that we don’t hit the ball and get enough guys on base to put pressure on the defense.”

The Falcons’ hitting woes were highlighted even more in their season opener against Pen Argyl. Despite a seven-inning, 12-strikeout performance from Chad Cooperman, Salisbury managed just one run on five hits in a 1-0 victory in eight innings.

Early on it looked as if Salisbury’s bats would break out of their funk. Instead, the Catasauqua game seemed a bit like déjà vu.

“Yesterday’s game, [Cooperman] pitched well, but the key was we played excellent defense,” Pochron said. “We didn’t hit much [last Tuesday against Pen Argyl]. Today we didn’t hit again, but we didn’t play any defense. That’s why we let a 6-1 lead slip away. That’s the game.”

Trailing by a run with three outs remaining, Catasauqua had momentum on its side with four combined runs in the fourth and fifth frames. Corey Raysley knocked in the game-tying run in the seventh. After stealing second base and advancing to third on a high overthrow attempt, Raysley crossed home on a Falcon infield error, the final of three on the day.

“I’m trying to think of a ground ball that we fielded that we actually got an out on, other than a bunt,” Pochron said.

All three Falcon errors lead to runs for Catasauqua.

Salisbury’s offensive burst in that third inning started with a single by Colin Wagner. A walk by Larry Zong and a bunt single by Peter Dubois loaded the bases with no outs, and Joey Galantini brought home Wagner to tie the game at 1-1.

Andrew Fletcher’s walk scored Zong in the next at-bat, and Nick Sikora came up with the Falcons’ biggest hit of the season-a three-run triple that gave Salisbury a commanding 5-1 advantage. Sikora then scored on a Taylor Linn groundout.

“We’re not getting any hits with guys in scoring position,” Pochron said. “Yesterday we got one in the eighth. We got [Nick] Sikora’s one today. That’s it.”

The Rough Riders, meanwhile, used a methodical approach at getting back in the game. Alejandro Monteverde’s triple in the fourth inning scored two, bringing Salisbury’s advantage to 6-3. Monteverde made it a two-run deficit when he scored on Rodney Berger’s single.

With two outs in the fifth inning, Nathan Pontician recorded Catasauqua’s seventh hit off of Salisbury’s Andrew Sukanick, slicing the Roughies’ deficit to a single run after being down 6-1 just eight outs prior.

Cole Warmkessel pitched the final out of the fifth and all of the final two frames, giving up two hits and two runs (one unearned). All of those hits and runs came in the seventh.

“He [Sukanick] did a fairly decent job,” Pochron said. “With a little support he would have been out of that [fourth] inning.”

Catasauqua’s Berger went the distance, striking out six Falcons in the complete-game victory.

While young, the Falcons’ pitching as a whole has been solid through 15 innings. Their bats need some work, and it all starts with their approach on first pitches.

“We’ve had opportunities,” Pochron said. “I just don’t like our approach at the plate. We just take too many pitches. I think we take too many first-pitch strikes, and we’re always hitting from in the hole.”

Salisbury looks to get back in the win column on Wednesday against Northern Lehigh, a game originally scheduled for last Saturday. Game time is 4 p.m. at Salisbury High School.