KLECKNERSVILLE — Starts don’t come much better than the one Franklin Township had against Moore Township on Friday night.

Seven straight batters reached base, six with hits, as Franklin scored seven first-inning runs and cruised to a 16-1 victory in Lehigh Valley Senior Connie Mack action.

“It was great,” said FT’s Chase Llewellyn, the game’s winning pitcher who was the beneficiary of the early run support. “The hitting was great, and overall it was a good game. We just played a great game.”

Llewellyn, ironically, was the one player who reached without a hit in that first frame. Brayden Ulshafer and Braylon Hunsicker opened with singles before Llewellyn’s fly to left was dropped to load the bases.

Ulshafer raced home on a wild pitch before Logan Bellis singled to plate two more runs.

Grant Birnbaum kept the offensive merry-go-round going with a hit, while Tanner Kintz and Pierce Goida both delivered RBI hits to make it 5-0. Tegan Hettler brought home another tally with a ground out, and another wild pitch allowed Goida to head home with the seventh run.

“The bats were hot,” said acting Franklin manager Mike Birnbaum. “We’ve been hot lately. Top to bottom we had quality at-bats. The kids are doing what we ask, which is to give us a good at-bat, and good things happen. Even outs are productive.

“We also got great pitching, and the defense was there. It was just a solid all-around performance.”

Llewellyn allowed a hit and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first. He pitched three innings, giving up just three hits and an unearned run while striking out five.

The left-hander, though, downplayed his effort.

“My pitching was all right,” he said. “It could have been better. But my curveball was definitely working today.”

Also working were FT’s bats. After the impressive first inning, the winners continued to put up runs in the second.

Llewellyn tripled to right to open the second — the only extra-base hit for Franklin among its 12. Birnbaum and Luke Haydt collected RBI hits in the frame, while Goida and Hettler added bases-loaded walks in an eight-run inning that pushed the margin to 15-0.

“We had good base running to go along with good at-bats,” said Coach Birnbaum. “We took walks when they were there, and put the ball in play and made things happen.

“We could definitely have a few more victories. A couple tight ones slipped away or just got away from us, but we’re hot right now and we want to run with it.”

The win upped FT’s record to 6-7, which is a bit deceiving. Four of its losses are by one run, with another by two. In contrast, four of its wins have been by 10 runs or more.

“Almost all our losses have been close, and we put up a good fight all the time,” said Llewellyn. “I think we have a good shot (at finishing strong and making noise in the playoffs).”

SPREADING THE WEALTH ... Every player in the Franklin Township lineup had at least one run and one RBI, with all but one ending with at least one hit. Ulshafer, Birnbaum and Kintz each had two hits and two runs scored. Bellis scored twice and had three RBIs, while Kintz, Hettler and Goida all had two RBIs.

HOT LATELY ... Franklin has won three straight games — after starting 3-7 — by a combined score of 45-3.

Franklin Township 780 1 - 16 12 1

Moore Township 010 0 - 1 3 2

Llewellyn, Hunsicker (4) and Goida; Gable, Wisser (1) and Leitch. W - Llewellyn. L - Gable.

Records: Franklin Township (6-7); Moore Township (3-9).