Great Kills American couldn’t have asked for a better start to its stay in Bristol, Conn.
The 11- and 12-year-olds from Staten Island defeated Conococheague (Md.), 7-3, in the opener of the Little League Mid-Atlantic regional last night at Breen Field.
“That’s very, very big,” manager Frank Cambria said. “You need to win two, probably three games to move onto the playoff round. Winning that one helps us out a lot.”
Ace pitcher James Greig gave up just three runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk in a six-inning, complete-game effort. Tom Bonviso and Carmine Bruno pitched well in the state championship victory Monday over Fayetteville-Manlius, allowing GKA to come back with Greig in the opener in Bristol. It proved to be vital.
“James pitched great,” Cambrai said. “He was mixing up his pitches. Everything was really good, where he had them off stride.”
Scrappy Great Kills, which has been known for late rallies, scored five runs to blow the game open in the fifth after Conococheague drew even at 2 in the third.
“We pumped [them] up a little bit, we got the kids rounded up,” Cambria said. “We told them we needed to hit.”
Hayden Gumb and Jerry Huntzinger each went 2-for-4 with two runs scored apiece and five hitters – Greig, Sean Fackovec, Johnathan Carbonella, Tom Bonviso and Michael Briordy – had one RBI each, all in that fifth inning. Antonio Gaudino walked with one out and Gumn and Huntzinger followed with singles to load the bases. True to form, it was a team effort for Great Kills with everyone getting involved.
Cambria will start Fackovec in the team’s second game, against Keystone (Pa.) at 8 p.m. Sunday night. Huntzinger, the team’s go-to reliever, will be on full rest. His contributions out of the bullpen have been integral to Great Kills’ success.
“I’m happy we didn’t have to use any more pitching,” Cambria said. “By saving him, that was big.”
The top four teams in the six-team, round-robin tournament will advance to the Mid-Atlantic regional championship round, which starts Friday. Great Kills, which won the New York State title Monday, is making its first appearance in the regional since the organization was founded 59 years ago.