The Lawrence Raiders' Hunter Scheib, right, scores in front of Salina Falcons pitcher Evan Freeman during the first inning. The Raiders jumped to an early lead, but eventually fell, 16-8, in the Class AAA state Legion tournament Sunday in Salina.

Salina ? The Lawrence Raiders were blasted out of the winner’s bracket of the Class AAA American Legion state baseball tournament by the host team, the Salina Falcons, Sunday at Dean Evans Stadium.

A late-inning onslaught by the Falcons earned them a 16-8 victory and a spot in the championship game – and put the Raiders’ streak of state championships in danger.

“They hit some balls hard, and we hit some balls hard, but they had more balls fall more than we did,” Raiders coach Shaun Edmondson said. “It was just one of those days in baseball. I don’t think they necessarily outplayed us, though the score may indicate otherwise. I thought our effort was good.”

Things were looking good for the Raiders early, thanks to a pair of home runs.

Hunter Scheib hit a three-run homer in the second with Patrick Johnson and Matthew Abel on base that put the Raiders up 5-0.

“I was pretty confident that it was gone. It just felt good,” said Scheib, who finished the day with four RBIs and three runs scored. “It’s always nice to get one because I’m not a big power guy, so it was fun. We really felt like we were controlling the game at that point, but I don’t know what happened.”

In the next inning, Ben Wilson led off with a solo home run to give the Raiders a 6-3 lead after the Falcons’ Dane Simoneau had hit a two-run blast of his own in the top of the third.

The Raiders, however, were outscored 12-1 in the final three innings.

“We’ve got to do a better job of getting a lead like that early and burying our opponent,” Wilson said. “We kind of struggled with that in the beginning of the year, and we got better at that. So hopefully we’ll get back to that tomorrow.”

The Falcons’ Simoneau made things difficult for the Raiders while at the plate and on the mound late.

Simoneau hit another two-run home run in the seventh and came in to pitch the final four innings and allowed just one hit and an unearned run.

“He had a good breaking ball, and it really changed speeds on us,” Wilson said of Simoneau. “It affected us, and we didn’t do a good job of adjusting to that, so that’s what happens.”

The Raiders now must win three games over the next two days in order to win their fifth consecutive state title.

It will begin with a noon game today against Pittsburg, which Lawrence run-ruled, 15-5 in the opening round of state, for the opportunity to play the Falcons immediately after.

If the Raiders win the rematch with Salina, the teams would meet again in a second championship game at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

“We’re not in a bad position,” Edmondson said. “It may seem on paper that we’re in a bad position having to win three games, but we’ve won nine of our last 10 games going into today.”