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OSSINING, N.Y. Once Croton got the bats going Saturday, the runs came in bunches.
Croton erupted over the final three innings of a District 33 Little League Baseball Major's Championship first-round game for a 21-2 victory over Peekskill at Ryder Park.
The game was stopped after five innings because of the mercy rule.
Croton scored 20 runs from the third inning on and, as a result, moves into a winner's bracket semifinal ay 6 p.m. Tuesday at Patterson against the Patterson-Cortlandt American-Brewster winner.
Meghan Giordano had three hits, including a solo home run and two RBI. Danny Oles had a bases-loaded double and a run-scoring single. Oles allowed three hits and struck out nine in four innings. Giordano tossed a scoreless fifth.
Peekskill led, 2-1, through two innings. Croton's bats came alive in the third inning, highlighted by Giordano's solo clout.
"Meghan's blast was really good," said Oles, 13, and an eighth-grader-to-be at Croton Middle School. "She does that all the time. Once we started scoring, we didn't feel like we were going to lose."
Following the first inning, in which Peekskill scored its runs, Oles struck out seven of the next 10 batters before turning it over to Giordano.
"I think I was throwing with a little more accuracy and throwing the ball harder," said Oles of his pitching from the second inning on. "This win feels really good and I hope we can keep it going."
Peter Gennarelli and Brendan Stierli each had three hits and two RBI and Nick Casieri singled twice and scored four runs.
Shakiem Woods and Noah Jacobs each had a hit and scored a run and Frank Bukovsky also had a hit.
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