SALISBURY TOWNSHIP — For Salisbury, the issue was weak fielding. For Jim Thorpe, the problem was allowing too many walks.

In the end, the walks did more damage than the errors, and the Falcons were able to hang on for an 8-6 Colonial League win Thursday afternoon on their home field.

After two walks and a single loaded the bases for Salisbury in the bottom of the first, another walk forced home the first run of the game. Then came a two-run single to put the Olympians in an early 3-0 hole.

As it turned out, the Olympians quickly climbed out of the hole with the help of three errors in the top of the second that led to five unearned runs for Jim Thorpe.

A double by Michael Antignani led off the top of the second for Thorpe, and a fielding error put runners on first and third with nobody out. Pitcher Dom Gracia recorded a strikeout for the first out of the inning, before more weak fielding gave the Olympians their first run of the game.

Lee Edwards tied the game with a two-run single to right field. Nathan Frantz singled to put two runners on, and Cole Lazorick came through with a single to right to score one run to give Jim Thorpe its first lead at 4-3. Gracia got the second out on a fly ball and could have been out of the inning, but the third error of the frame pushed across another run and Thorpe stretched its advantage to 5-3.

Brody Schrantz got the start for the Olympians and seemed to take advantage of the new lead when he retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the second. But that’s when control issues began to bother Schrantz, who walked the bases loaded to end his outing.

Lazorick moved over to the mound from third base and was greeted by freshman Logan Kao, who came through with a line drive to right to score two runs and tie the game 5-5.

“I like the spirit of this team and how they battle. We had a rough one last Saturday (a 17-2 loss to Notre Dame of Green Pond) but they bounced back, they came to practice and worked hard, and that’s all you can ask of these kids,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Joe Marykwas.

Everything settled down in the third and Gracia put the Olympians down in the top of the fourth, but Lazorick struggled in the bottom of the inning.

After a leadoff single, Markus Jones jumped on the first pitch he saw and drove it over the fence in left field for a home run that landed approximately 340 feet from home plate, and the Falcons took a 7-5 lead.

Salisbury again loaded the bags with runners on two walks that book-ended a single. One out later, Tanner Kuder hit a high fly ball to right that scored a runner for the eighth tally of the game for the Falcons.

Things became kind of quiet for both teams until the Olympians came to the plate in the sixth.

Joshiah Kuhns came on to pitch for Salisbury and issued a leadoff walk. Two outs later, Schrantz singled to left and Lazorick, who was the lead runner, scored to make it 8-6.

Jim Thorpe wasn’t done yet.

In the top of the seventh, Zack Murphy came to the plate and lined a base hit to left field. More fielding issues put two runners on base for Jim Thorpe with nobody out. A ground ball recorded the first out and put runners on second and third. The Olympians failed to take advantage of the opportunity they had built, and Salisbury got the final two outs of the game to finish off the win.

Thorpe pitchers walked 12 batters, and the Falcons committed four errors that led to five unearned runs.

“I thought we battled hard all day; these kids always fight. I think we just gave them too many free base runners, and that’s what beat us,” said Marykwas. “We played good defensively, we had good swings, we came up a little short against a good baseball team.”

A SWING AND AN OUCH ... Edwards left the game in the top of the fifth after he swung at a pitch, only to have the ball come off the bat and into his nose. After being attended to by the trainer on the scene, Edwards left to get his nose examined to determine the extent of the injury.

Jim Thorpe 050 001 0 - 6 7 0

Salisbury 320 300 x - 8 6 4

Lazorick, Schrantz (5), Frantz (6) and Murphy; Gracia, Kuhns (6) and Kuder. HR: Salisbury - Jones (4th, one on).

Records: Jim Thorpe (1-2, 1-2) Salisbury (2-1, 1-1).