CONYNGHAM - Sometimes things don't go as planned.

Take the case Franklin Township's District 18 11-12-year-old Little League All-Star team. It had battled through the loser's bracket finals and was one win away from nibbling at a District 18 championship, even though it would have to win twice against undefeated Valley East in this double elimination tournament.But Valley West ruined Franklin's plans.Valley West had far too much firepower clouting five home runs, including three from cleanup hitter Mike Mehalshick, and one each from Tommy Zapotocky and Luke Russo, to rout Franklin Township 14-4 in five innings.There was a subtleness to the way it all came to the fore for the eventual winners. Franklin Township sent down the first two West batters before things started to come unraveled.A walk to Anthony Cera brought Mehalshick to the plate for the first time, and the second baseman ripped a home run over the left field fence for a 2-0 West lead.Jacob Magula followed with a single, and Zapotocky belted a two-run homer to give Valley West a 4-0 lead after an inning of play."Sometimes things don't always go your way," said Franklin Township manager Ron Steigerwalt. "We knew they could hit, but we couldn't get things going (at the plate) either."That isn't to say there weren't early chances for Franklin. In the second inning, it sent six batters to the plate. But a Jack Lorenz single produced the sole run as Franklin left two men on base.In the fourth, it scored twice thanks to a walk, two errors and a Nate Armbruster single.That rally had cut the West lead to 6-4 - as another Mehalshick homer produced two more Valley West runs in the third.But that would be as close as Franklin would get.Things came crashing down in the home fourth when West scored five times, taking advantage of two errors, and, Mehalshick's home run power, as his third two-run blast increased the West lead to 11-4.In the home fifth, the curtain came down. Russo capped off the impressive 12-hit Valley West attack with a three-run homer, kicking in the five-inning, 10-run rule.Valley West meets Valley East Saturday and will need to defeat East twice to claim the D-18 crown.LONG BALL … Mehalshick had his three home runs in just three plate appearances.STRONG PITCHING … Franklin Township managed just two hits as Lorenz and Armbruster each had a single, the latter's coming off the bench.Franklin Twp. 010 30 - 4 2 2Valley West 402 53 - 14 12 2Lutz, Failla (2), Bongorno (4), Lorenz (4) and Lorenz and Crum (3); Cera, Mehalshick (4) and G. Russo. W - Cera. L - Lutz.