Mariners get past City Employees

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — With starting pitcher Kellyn O’Leary in a groove in the circle, all she needed was some support from her teammates at the plate.

O’Leary did her part, then her teammates took care of the rest.

O’Leary struck out eight in three innings to help lead the Crescenta Valley Mariners to an 8-4 victory against the Vaquero City Employees in a semifinal game of the Tri-Cities District 16 Little League Knock-Out Tournament on Monday afternoon at Scholl Canyon Ballfields.

The game was called in the middle of the fifth inning because of the tournament-imposed 1-hour, 40-minute time rule. The sixth-seeded Mariners will meet top-seeded Foothill Two Guys or fourth-seeded Jewel City/Jewish War Veterans Angels in the championship contest at 5 p.m. Thursday at Scholl Canyon. Two Guys will meet the Angels in a semifinal game at 5 p.m. today.

O’Leary had little trouble solving the seventh-seeded City Employees. The right-hander struck out seven in a row and didn’t alow a hit before being removed from the circle because pitchers are allowed to pitch only three innings.

“She threw heat and she’s got some great mechanics,” Mariners Coach Cary McReynolds said. “City has got some very good hitters, and it’s a little surprising for her to get eight strikeouts.

“We had some nice hits, too. We had run production at the top and got some from the bottom of the order. We’d like to face either team, but we know they will be good.”

The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Maddy Ellison led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a single by Aprylle Salvador.

The Mariners made it 5-0 with four runs in the third, highlighted by a two-run single from Brenda Gomez to make it 3-0.

City Employees responded with four runs in the fourth to close to within 5-4, with run-scoring singles from Xochitl Garcia and Alyah Hernandez.

The Mariners saw City Employees load the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Gomez got the final out to earn the save.

“We came back and had our chances,” City Employees Coach Ramon Hernandez said. “We had some little errors that led to runs.

“[O’Leary] had a good fastball going. A pitcher who throws well shuts down good hitting.”

 CHARLES RICH covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3228 or charles.rich@latimes.com.