Jeff Appleman was cautiously optimistic about his team’s chances heading into Monday’s season opener against Northern Lehigh.

The Falcons gave their head coach a few more reasons to be upbeat after a 12-1 win over the Bulldogs in Colonial League action.

“I’m really happy,” Appleman said afterward. “Our pitcher (Elizabeth Carney) is a freshman, so this was her first game at this level. They didn’t have many hits, and the walks were minimal, and we kept people off the bases.

“And being young, we made some errors and things like that. But we hit the ball. Every spot in the lineup, so I like that.”

Carney struck out eight in seven solid innings, allowing just four hits and two walks.

At the plate, Salisbury pounded out 14 hits. Junior Samantha Peffer had a single, double and triple to go with three RBIs and a run scored.

Freshman Bailee Neitz also had three hits and two runs.

The Falcons (1-0) gave Carney run support early, with four runs in the first inning, including an RBI double by Peffer.

“I don’t think most of the league knows about this team, because we are so young,” Appleman said. “But they are really tough-minded kids. Nobody got down if they made a mistake.”

Carney had five of her strikeouts in the first two innings.

But the Bulldogs (0-1) worked deeper counts the second and third time through the batting order.

After getting just two base runners in the first three innings, Jordyn Hemingway ripped a one-out triple to center field in the fourth.

Krystal Aungst charged a bunt attempt by Arabella Heintzelman and flipped it to catcher Marcie Silberman, who tagged Hemingway at the plate and kept Salisbury’s lead at 7-0.

Hayley Thoder followed with a walk, and a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third before a ground out ended the inning.

Brianna Hess and Haylie Fenstermaker started a two-out rally in the fifth with back-to-back singles, before they advanced to second and third base on an error, but another ground out put an end to the threat.

“It took us entirely too long to make the adjustments that we needed to make,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Kate Farber. “They eventually did come, and we started putting the ball in play more and started making some things happen. But we can’t wait until the fifth inning to do that.”

Hemingway smashed a leadoff home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth for the Bulldogs, a blast that made it 10-1.

Salisbury scored in every inning but the second.

Carney also had a double and two RBIs at the plate. Marcie Silberman added a double and scored three runs, while Haylee Silberman collected two singles and scored a run.

Like the Falcons, the Bulldogs also feature a young lineup, which saw some new faces on Monday.

But Farber wouldn’t let any lack of practice time or roster changes alter her goals for the program.

“I still expected us to play better,” she said. “We’re glad to be here, but the bar needs to be higher than that. So we’re glad to be here and be given the opportunity to play, but we definitely have to raise the bar.”

FOCUS FORWARD

... It wasn’t the start Farber wanted for her team, but she knows how to have them ready when it matters most. Northern Lehigh defeated Schuylkill Haven for the District 11 Class 2A title in 2019, her first year as coach. That year, the Bulldogs entered postseason with a 7-13 record, before claiming their first title since 2001.

HITTERS

... Eight of the nine starters in Salisbury’s lineup had at least one hit.

FINISH STRONG

... Carney finished the game with back-to-back strikeouts.

Salisbury 401 221 2 - 12 14 4

No. Lehigh 000 001 0 - 1 4 6

Carney and M. Silberman; Smith and Peters. W - Carney. L - Smith. HR: NL - Hemingway (6th, none on).