The Salisbury softball team may have lost four of its last five games heading into this week, dropping the Lady Falcons to 3-5 in the early going. But head coach Jeff Appleman is well aware there are still plenty of games remaining to turn the corner.

In fact, the last time Salisbury started 3-5 was in 2019 when the program made history and reached the District 11 Class 3A championship game. Of course, this is a different team than the squad two years ago, but there’s no panic just yet from the Lady Falcons.

“It’s been up and down,” Appleman said. “We enjoyed a come-from-behind win over Palisades, but had some other games we could have done better.

“We started 3-5 two years ago and made the district final that year. We always improve as the season progresses, and I don’t think this one will be any different.”

After a quick 2-1 start to open the season, the Falcons (3-6 overall; 2-5 in Colonial League) ran into a tough stretch that saw them go 1-4 over a nine-day period. During that skid, the Lady Falcons suffered losses to Southern Lehigh (11-6), Catasauqua (8-6), Palmerton (11-1) and Wilson (10-8) to drop to 2-4 in Colonial League play.

To go along with an inexperienced lineup, Appleman and the Lady Falcons ran into a few other external factors that made the past couple of weeks even tougher.

“We had some Covid and injury issues,” Appleman said. “That hurts us with a small roster, but the biggest factor is inexperience. We are a young team going through what young teams go through right now.”

The good news is that the offense seems to be in a groove, led by Marcie Silberman, who hit a home run at Pates Park recently and is hitting .533 on the season with two home runs and nine RBIs. Katherine Lovelidge, who has a team-high 13 hits and 12 runs scored, and Kayle Trenge, who hit a grand slam recently against Dieruff, round out a solid lineup in the batter’s box.

The defense and pitching, however, need some improving if the Lady Falcons hope to win some of these close games and make it back to the district playoffs.

“Our defense and pitching has to be more consistent,” Appleman said. “I’m confident that can occur; we just need to relax and play.

“We don’t get out of innings, and we give other teams too many opportunities. If we make a few routine plays, our record would be different.”

Salisbury dropped its second in a row-and fifth of its last six contests-on Monday via a 10-8 defeat to Saucon Valley. The offense once again did its part, marking the fifth game that the Lady Falcons scored at least eight runs.

Up next is a tough stretch that includes games against Bangor (on Wednesday), Pen Argyl (on Friday) and Allen (on Saturday).

“Until we improve our overall play, they are all tough games,” Appleman said. “Bangor is always good, so it will be a test as always.”

Salisbury will play host to the Slaters on Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.