Great Kills wins opener

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."

Ace pitcher James Greig gave up just three runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk in a six-inning, complete-game effort. Scrappy Great Kills scored five times to blow the game open in the fifth inning after Conococheague tied things up at 2 in the third.

Hayden Gumb and Jerry Huntzinger each went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Cambria will start Sean Fackovec in the team's second game against Keystone (Pa.) at 8 p.m. tomorrow, with Huntzinger available in relief.

The top four teams in the six-team, round-robin tournament will advance to the championship round, which starts Friday.

mraimondi@nypost.com