In tournament baseball, things don't always go the way you want them too. That was exactly the case for the Anthracite and Jim Thorpe 11-12 year-old baseball squads in their District 18 first round match-up. Both teams came out of the first round with a loss and we're looking to get back into the championship picture on Wednesday.

That team was Anthracite as it used a four-run second inning to help secure an 8-6 victory over Thorpe.The tale of the tape for Jim Thorpe in the District 18 tournament up to this point has been poor starts, and Wednesday was no different.Thorpe was fortunate to just give up one run in the first, as Anthracite scored a run, but left three on base in the frame.In the second, JT wasn't so lucky, giving up four runs off hits from Derek Pavlik and Gavin Garcia. Garcia collected an RBI in the inning as well. A Jim Thorpe error and a walk to Bryan Smith also setup the big inning for Anthracite. Before Jim Thorpe could blink, it was trailing 5-0, heading into the third inning."In our last game we weren't aggressive at the plate and tonight our kids totally turned that around," said Anthracite coach Brian "Pip" Rehrig. "We came out swinging the ball well and most importantly swinging at pitches that were in the strike zone. We put the ball in play, and in little league that's one of the most important things you can do."Anthracite added another run in the third to extend its lead to 6-0, which is when Thorpe decided to get back into the ball game.With just one swing of the bat, Jared Joyce woke up the sleeping Jim Thorpe squad with a three-run homer that brought JT within striking distance. A walk to Caiden Hurley and a double by Adam Lauer setup the three-run shot by Joyce."We just haven't been getting off to good starts and we've had to pitch from behind," said Jim Thorpe coach Ryan Hurley. "When you're in that situation then you have to try and hit your way back into the game. We weren't able to do that in our last two games and unfortunately the end result was back-to-back losses."While Jim Thorpe struggled to get runs, Anthracite stayed consistent, adding a run in the fourth and fifth inning.Another big reason why Anthracite was able to pull out the "W" was pitcher Gavin Garcia. Garcia used up his pitch count against Thorpe, battling until the sixth inning when he was relieved by Pavlik.Even when Thorpe closed the gap in the sixth Anthracite never backed down, kept its composure, and finished out the ball game."Tonight was a great example of how we can play when we're focused," said Rehrig. "These kids never backed down tonight and they bounced back after a tough loss to Valley East. I'm very proud of these kids and now we just have to keep fighting our way through the loser's bracket and see what happens."For Anthracite, Derek Pavlik was the "golden slugger" of the night getting four hits, including a solo home run in the fifth inning. Jon Byers, Bobby Stempa, Matt Rehrig, and Ian Mertz added a hit apiece.For Thorpe, James Lordi led the charge with two hits and Davier Calcano added a hit.Anthracite 141 110 - 8 9 2Jim Thorpe 003 021 - 6 5 4W - Garcia L - Lauer. HR: Anthracite - Pavlik (5th, none on); Jim Thorpe - Joyce (3rd, two on).