Adversity is something every athlete faces at all levels of competition.

What’s more important is how they overcome those difficult situations.

Compound that with Little League kids playing a very unpredictable sport, and anything can happen.

Franklin Township looked to keep its season alive on Tuesday as it welcomed East Stroudsburg to Phifer’s Ice Dam Baseball Field.

Momentum swung back and forth throughout the game, including two dramatic swings in the sixth inning that saw FT take the lead, only for East Stroudsburg to come back and walk off with an 8-7 victory in the District 18 10-12-year-old Little League Tournament.

East Stroudsburg won the pregame coin toss to be the designated home team. Franklin wasn’t fazed, striking early with a run in each of the first two innings. Bryson Brungard hit an inside-the-park home run in the first, and Lawson Troutman added an RBI single in the second.

After FT’s Jake Kistner cruised through the first two innings with five strikeouts, East Stroudsburg got on the board in the third when Colin Miller delivered an infield single. Despite getting out of the inning, Franklin appeared to lose some momentum.

That carried over into the fourth, and East Stroudsburg took advantage. A two-run single by Collin Lopez gave his team its first lead of the game, 3-2.

After a scoreless fifth, and with East Stroudsburg three outs away from advancing, Franklin responded in a big way. Two singles, two doubles, two errors and a walk brought home five runs to give FT a 7-3 advantage. Bryson Brungard tied the score with a single before Dean Kuhns doubled home two runs to put Franklin in front.

With Franklin seemingly in control, baseball had a cruel way of reminding everyone how quickly things can change.

FT struggled to find the strike zone in the bottom of the sixth, resulting in five consecutive walks that cut the lead to 7-5. After a wild pitch brought home another run, East Stroudsburg put the final dagger into Franklin’s season when Jaiden Carmella lined a two-run double down the left-field line to cap an 8-7 victory.

East Stroudsburg head coach John Penatello said his team’s ability to handle adversity paid off.

“One of the things we really stress at East Stroudsburg Little League is to really just stay focused on the game,” he said. “Baseball’s a funny game. One second you’re up, one second you’re down. They’re used to understanding there’s going to be some rough moments, but you’ve got to battle through them and stick with it, and that’s what they did.”

Franklin Township’s season ended on a bitter note, and much earlier than most may have anticipated. Despite the difficult loss, head coach Mike Snyder reminded everyone how challenging moments like the sixth inning can be for 12-year-olds.

“These kids are 12 years old,” he said. “It’s a big moment. Bases loaded, you see the runs come off the board because we’re walking guys in. I think the pitchers themselves were kind of putting too much pressure on themselves, and not letting their defense stand behind them.”

Through it all, Snyder’s message to his players was to learn from the experience, while maintaining a positive outlook as they continue to develop.

“I think the biggest learning lesson is that you never guarantee, when you’re ahead, you’re going to win the game,” he said. “Because our team’s a little bit young and over half the kids are new to this All-Star environment, that intensity maybe (ate) away at some of them. That’s baseball. You win with pride, you lose with dignity. They’ve got to keep their heads up. They played their hearts out out there.”

MOVING ON ... East Stroudsburg advances in the losers’ bracket and will face Towamensing on Friday.

Franklin Township 110 005 - 7 8 1

East Stroudsburg 001 205 - 8 5 2

Balatoni, Carmella (5), Miller (6) and Murphy; Kistner, Kuhns (5), Snyder (6) and Bryson Brungard. W - Miller. L - Snyder.