HAZLETON - It didn’t look good for Jim Thorpe’s Little League team at Corelle Stadium on Wednesday.

Trailing by three runs and staring elimination in the face, Thorpe used an improbable 17-run fifth inning to pull out a football-like 23-13 victory over Hazleton.

The win kept JT alive in the District 18 10-12 tournament, while the loss eliminated the home team. Thorpe will now play another elimination game on Friday, when it hosts Tamaqua.

The wild score was just part of the evening’s story. While the teams were busy battling on the field, they also dealt with all kinds of fraught and spectator ejections, turning the contest into a spectacle with neither side being comfortable.

In fact, the raucous homestands started to garner more attention than the players at times. Umpires Ramon Vargas and Ramon Rojas managed to quell the disturbance without much fanfare before the final out was made.

Some of the off-field antics may have overshadowed Thorpe’s big inning. But what an inning it was.

The winners - who opened the game with a six-run first inning only to see Hazleton chip away and score nine unanswered runs - kept their composure and stayed the course. They would eventually send 19 batters to the plate in the fifth frame, proving to be a team that would never say die.

“We started the game well, bouncing back from the last game we played,” said Jim Thorpe manager Alex Guthrie. “We swung the bats better.

“But they (Hazleton) came back, and I think the kids got a little down after that. We were able to rally, though. We ran the bases well in that fifth inning and were able to continue piling on the runs. We kept the line moving in that fifth inning.”

Tyler Hoherchak started the uprising innocently enough with a walk, and then scored when Anthony Kiehl delivered a double. Nick Faust also walked, and an infield hit by Tom Pantages eventually plated another run. Another free pass to Dominic Kiehl preceded a Hazleton error.

Caleb Kosko kept the scoring train moving with an RBI single that continued the Jim Thorpe momentum and had the fans boiling on the Hazleton side. Luke Sandquist and Spencer Gothard also got in on the action by knocking in runs for Thorpe.

While the winners kept putting up runs, things continued to get ugly in the stands. Play came to a halt four different times during JT’s run of batters, but the Olympians managed to stay focused.

After Thorpe batted around a first time, there was still more to come.

Hoherchak came through with a steal of home, while Gothard blasted a three-run double during his third at-bat of the inning.

Eventually, the home team was finally able to record a third out, but not until the damage was done.

Hazleton made things interesting in the bottom of the fifth, as a Jocannie Aries double, an RBI single by Dylan Garcia, a run-scoring double off the bat of Jorice Bons, and an RBI ground out accounted for three runs. Thorpe, however, was able to end the inning and the game via the 10-run rule.

“These kids are resilient,” said Guthrie. “They work hard, and they’re really starting to come together as an all-star team. We’re looking forward to playing again on Friday.”

BRAVO TO SEVERAL ... Both coaching staffs managed to remain calm to the end. Kudos to the umpires and the District 18 representative that was on hand, who did an excellent job of administrating. He also told the umpires that if there was another outburst, the game would end at that point.

HITTING PARADE … Thorpe finished with 14 hits. Anthony and Dominic Kiehl had two apiece, while Hoherchak singled twice. Winning pitcher Gothard also doubled. Hazleton had 10 hits, with Roberto Abreu collecting three. Doubles came off the bats of Noah Mayernick and Bons.

STAYING ALIVE … The winner of the Jim Thorpe-Tamaqua matchup will meet the loser of Tri-County/Weatherly and Franklin Township.

Jim Thorpe 600 0(17) - 23 14 3

Hazleton 531 0 4 - 13 10 3

T. Kiehl, Gothard (2) and Sandquist; Payano, Bons (1), Garcia (5), Gardner (5) and Cruz. W - Gothard. L - Garcia.