After three innings Monday the Salisbury baseball team seemed to be in complete control, leading Palmerton by six runs with the Blue Bombers struggling to find hits off starter Taylor Linn.

But the Bombers started chipping away, taking advantage of every Falcon miscue and scoring a run in each of the next two innings before adding two in the sixth to get within two runs.

They used three hits and an error to get three more runs in the top of the seventh before walking away with a come-from-behind 8-7 win.

“To be where we were and to make some of the plays we made, or didn’t make, and then end up losing this game,” said Salisbury head coach Mike Pochron. “We were up 7-1 and then we walked guys and wild pitches let some runs in.

“They end up with four or five hits for the game and scored eight runs. That’s what’s really painful.”

The Falcons took a 1-0 lead on Ryan Miller’s RBI infield single in the first inning, then extended their lead with a six-run second inning.

Quinn Warmkessel drove in a pair of runs in the big second innings before Linn planted a 3-run home run over the right-center field fence for a 7-1 lead.

After taking the lead, Salisbury had just three hits the rest of the game.

“We scored early and then didn’t do anything after the second inning,” said Pochron.

The Blue Bombers, after leaving three runners on base in the third inning, used three walks to load the bases and score on a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning while leaving another pair of runners on base.

After giving up another two walks early in the fifth inning, Linn was relieved by Peter Dubois, who came in with one out and two runners on base. Palmerton scored a run on a wild pitch in the fifth to make it 7-3, but Dubois got out of the jam as Palmerton stranded two more runners on base.

Freshman pitcher Quinn Warmkessel took the mound for the Falcons in the sixth inning. A walk and a single put two Palmerton runners on base. They both scored on wild pitches reduce the Falcons’ lead to 7-5 after six innings.

Jake Taschler got Palmerton within a run on an RBI single with one out in the seventh inning. Ben Serfass’ RBI single brought the score to 7-7 with two outs and a runner on second base. The winning run came home on an infield throwing error.

Closer Ryan King retired the Falcons in order in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The loss drops Salisbury to 5-5 overall and 4-5 in Colonial League play. They’re still just three and a half games back of first-place Northwestern (9-3) and still in the race for a league playoff berth and even the division title with a busy upcoming schedule.

“Teams are letting us hang around in the division,” said Pochron. “Northwestern just lost two games. This would have put us right where we needed to be. It’s getting late. We can’t keep throwing games away.”

The Falcons didn’t have much time to dwell on the loss. They have games scheduled this week against Bangor (Thursday), Moravian Academy (Friday), and Saucon Valley (Saturday). After a day off they play Catasauqua (Monday), Southern Lehigh (Tuesday, May 1) and Palisades (Wednesday, May 2) before a rematch with Northwestern next Friday (May 4).

“That will be the season there,” said Pochron.