Salisbury entered the Connie Mack playoffs riding a tidal wave of 12 consecutive victories. The Falcons entered as the league’s hottest team last week when the tournament got underway.

By the time the weekend hit, the Falcons added three more wins and cemented a Lehigh Valley Connie Mack championship to their resume. Following victories over Northampton (10-0) and Emmaus (8-5) on back-to-back days, Salisbury downed Hellertown, 5-1, for the championship last Friday.

Friday was Salisbury first ever championship at the Connie Mack level. It’s also the second consecutive year the Falcons will be playing in the state tournament.

“It’s a lot of fun because these kids really pull for each other,” Salisbury manager Bob Sopko said. “We have 17 kids on the roster and they all pull for each other. That’s what’s really great about it. It’s a testament to the drive and being the best they can be.”

Andrew Sukanick led a dominant pitching and defensive effort that guided Salisbury to a title. No performance was greater than his outing in the championship game.

Sukanick (10-0 with a 2.21 ERA in 13 games) pitched six innings of one run baseball, and Dakota Albertson pitched a hitless seventh inning to cap the Falcons’ 15-game winning streak with a title.

In their playoff opener, Sukanick was at it once again with a five-inning performance in which he yielded just two hits and struck out five batters.

“It was one of the strongest outings I’ve seen Andrew throw as far as being down in the zone,” Sopko said. “He actually looked ready and felt ready. I remember him saying that he felt ready for this and was up for the challenge. He was like a tiger on the mound. He went right after hitters and did a great job.”

When asked the biggest factor in that dominant 15-game stretch, Sopko didn’t hesitate to point out the defense and pitching combination. For much of the second half of the season, the Falcons have been playing error-free baseball that has guided them to a historic finish.

“Pitching and great defense wins you championships,” Sopko said. “If I had to pinpoint something for the big run that we’ve been on, it’s been the pitching and solid defense we’ve been playing. Very rarely will we have an error.”

Cole Warmkessel (4-2 with a 1.47 ERA) and Taylor Linn (2-2, 2.39 ERA) have proved to be tremendous compliments to Sukanick. And Albertson’s 1.54 ERA ranks second on the team in 22.2 innings.

On the offensive side, Salisbury certainly did its part in providing plenty of run support for its aces on the mound. The Falcons managed 23 runs on 22 hits this postseason, 10 of those coming in a shutout quarterfinal win over Northampton.

Against Hellertown in the championship, Colton Hagadus went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Ryan Miller, Trevor Freeman and Linn all brought drove in runs. Miller accounted for four RBIs in the semifinals against Emmaus and then two more against Emmaus, and Lucas Irwin also knocked in a run against the Hornets.

Joey Galantini, the Falcons’ leading hitter who sports a .462 batting average, brought home a run against Northampton, while Hagadus, Dubois, Linn and Josh Orlena also tallied RBIs in the shutout.

“They [Hellertown] beat a lot of good teams to get to the championship game,” Sopko said. “They came together very well as a team to get to that spot. They were a tough team to beat.”

Salisbury will play the winner of Lower Mac and Souderton in the state tournament on Saturday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Limeport Stadium. A win advances the Falcons to Tuesday, while a loss will force the Falcons to play the next day in the double-elimination tournament.