JACKSON TOWNSHIP - Momentum can swing a game in one team's favor in the blink of an eye. No matter the situation, one play can turn a game around and shift the balance of power instantaneously.

Jim Thorpe knew that first hand, riding a dominant pitching performance to stifle Hazleton's offense in the District 18 Championship.Thorpe then used a torrid comeback to erase an early six-run deficit in a 12-9 opening round win over Big Pocono in the 9-10 Little League Section 6 double elimination tournament.The win setup a showdown with District 30 champions Warwick in the second round, a team that had flexed its muscle throughout the district and sectional tournaments and appeared to be firing on all cylinders entering this contest.The Bulldogs wasted little time imposing their will on an up-and-coming Jim Thorpe squad, scoring six runs in the first inning and piling on late en route to a 15-0 win."This team's big on momentum and once we committed a couple of errors it seemed like it was infectious," Jim Thorpe coach Ryan Hurley said. "Warwick is a really good team and you just can't commit that many errors."Jim Thorpe fielders misplayed a number of balls in the game-changing first inning, allowing several unearned runs to score off starter Adam Lauer. Lauer would settle down after the first, allowing only one unearned run over his final two innings of work."I thought Adam Lauer pitched really well," Hurley said. "We just didn't make the plays (behind him). I think the game could have been a little different, but we just didn't make the plays."Hurley's counterpart agreed that the early deficit would have been tough for any team to overcome."Obviously, they're a better team than they looked like today," Warwick coach Jim Kerrigan said. "When you make those kind of errors early it kills you. We've been in that position before where you make a couple of costly errors early…and these kids are only nine and 10 years old."I'm sure if we see them again on Thursday its not going to be 15-0 or anywhere near that. But they dropped some balls and we took advantage of it."Warwick also leaned on its pitching throughout the contest, as starter Corey Haudu and reliever Alex Stewart combined for a four inning no hitter. Jim Thorpe's Chris Condly and Carlos Magobet reached on consecutive walks in the third inning for the team's only baserunners."Our strength is our pitching," Kerrigan said. "We go six deep and they all pitch almost exactly the same. We just don't give up many runs. All of our pitchers can hit their spots and they're all smart"At this age, that's all you can ask for. Don't walk anybody, don't make any errors and you'll win more than you'll lose."For many teams, a lopsided loss would be deflating and serve as a massive setback to any progress that had been made. But for Jim Thorpe, the defeat serves as an opportunity to regroup and come back with a renewed sense of urgency moving forward."We were in this position before," Hurley said of the situation. "We were down to Hazleton in the district finals when we dropped the first game. But we came back roaring."That's what I'm hoping for here. I'll give them a pep-talk and hopefully they come back ready to play tomorrow."Warwick 610 8 - 15 9 0Jim Thorpe 000 0 - 0 0 6Haudu, Stewart (4) and Decker; Lauer, Joyce (4), Malarkey (4) and Hubbard. W - Haudu. L - Lauer. HR: Warwick - Decker (4th, one on).