For the first time ever, the 13, 14, and 15 year-old Franklin Township all-star teams have all earned spots in state playoff competition during the same season.

And they did so in impressive fashion. All of the teams, which feature players from Lehighton and Jim Thorpe, took first place in their respective district tournament."We have a good group of guys," said Franklin 13s head coach Roger Crum. "We have good pitching, good bats, and good gloves. They play with heart and they get fired up. We've been together since they were eight, so they know what to do."The 13s will travel to Altoona to start their state tournament on Friday."I don't know if it's ever been done before," Crum said. "To have the 13s, 14s, and 15s win the district is pretty cool. It just goes to show you that the hard work from little on up pays off. I think we've been district runners-up three times since these kids were eight years old. They're due to move on, and they're only going to get better."The 14s will have the luxury of hosting the state tournament at Christman Field."It's a good thing," said 14s' hitting coach Abel Calcano. "You always want to represent your hometown and root for your teams. At the end of the day, everybody has Franklin across their chest."The 14s played a few close games in the district tournament, hoping that those critical situations can help carry momentum forward."We got quality clutch hits when we needed them," said 14s head coach Joe Marykwas. "Right now, I think pitching and defense is what has been keeping us in games."The 15s will travel to Belleville to compete in their tournament."It's good for Franklin to represent each age group," said 15s head coach Tony Fristick. "It's safe to assume that's probably the first time it has happened. All three teams have a good bunch of kids that get along with each other and are positive toward the organization."We have one player who played on the younger team last year who has some state experience. We'll be nervous but it'll be some good, nervous positive energy. We're excited about it to go out there and at least play our four games, and we'll see what happens from there."All three age groups will be using the same state tournament format. The tourneys will have two divisions that will use round-robin pool play. The top two teams in each division will then advance to a single-elimination, four-team bracket that will determine a state champion.