Looking to end its two-game losing streak in the regular season, the Northern Valley Legion baseball team sought to get back on track against last-place Salisbury on Sunday.

Facing a 3-2 deficit heading into the seventh inning, a lead-off single from Dante Salerno put the tying run on with no outs. Unfortunately, the rest of the inning didn't pan out as head coach Brad Rauch's team had anticipated.

After a Charger groundout, Josh Williamson was called out on a questionable batter's interference ruling on a hit-and-run play. A fly out ended the Chargers' threat, leaving Salerno on second base, and sent Northern Valley to an 8-10 finish in the regular season with their loss at Salisbury High School.

The controversial ruling was that Williamson intentionally tried to interfere with the Falcon catcher, a call Rauch certainly didn't agree with.

"According to the rule book, if there's no contact and it's not intentional, it's not interference," Rauch said. "I guess he thought it was intentional because he was outside the box. But I had a hit-and-run on, so he was swinging at the outside pitch. He was doing his job."

The Chargers, which enter the playoffs as the No. 6 seed with a three-game losing streak, were shut out by South Parkland (1-0) and North Parkland (8-0) in their two previous games.

Against the Falcons, the Chargers struggled to produce timely hits once again.

"It's been one of those years," Rauch said. "We had 10 guys left on base. You're not going to be productive leaving 10 guys on base. It's not so much that we weren't productive. We just hit the ball right to them."

Salerno led off the game with a single in the first inning, and Collin Breidinger's single later in the inning put Northern Valley ahead 1-0 early.

But while the Chargers recorded nine hits through the first six frames, only one more run crossed home plate as Brandon Miller came in on a two-out double from Zachary Moll in the sixth.

The Chargers had a base runner in every inning, including leadoff runners on five occasions. Their most threatening opportunity came in the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs. But an inning-ending double play left the Chargers scoreless.

Miller's run in the sixth broke a 1-1 tie that held since the third inning. But the Falcons, which needed a win to get into a one-game playoff for the final LVL postseason spot, wasted no time in responding.

Jeff Trexler led off the sixth with a single for the Falcons, and Jonathan Benitez then walked in the next plate appearance. Noah Adams hit into a fielder's choice, and he and Benitez advanced into scoring position after a Williamson wild pitch. Two batters later, Tama Anoa'i's two-run double brought home both base runners for a 3-2 advantage.

Despite playing a team that was desperate to keep their playoff hopes alive, it wasn't that the Chargers overlooked the Falcons.

"I tell them all the time it doesn't matter who you're playing," Rauch said. "You have to play up every game."

When the playoffs began on Wednesday, Northern Valley faced No. 3 seed Coplay at Sam Balliet Stadium. (That game was played after Press deadline. See next week's issue for results.)

If the Chargers are looking to make some noise in the postseason, Rauch knows they must regroup and get the confidence level high again

"We just need to get these guys back up," Rauch said. "We're kind of in a slump right now. Things just aren't going our way. We'll get back. When playoff time comes, we've always been successful. We'll be all right."