As St. James/Smithtown nears Little League World Series berth, Massapequa Coast players offer some advice

Three summers ago, Joey Lionetti and Michael Clark were in the exact situation the players on the St. James/Smithtown 12U baseball team will find themselves in on Friday night — one victory away from every young baseball player’s dream of playing in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

And that evening, Lionetti created a moment he still gets asked about to this day.

Lionetti pitched a no-hitter to send Massapequa Coast to the Little League World Series in 2022, becoming the first Long Island team to qualify for the LLWS since Rockville Centre in 1978.

“People still talk to me about it,” Lionetti, now 15 years old, recalled in an interview with Newsday on Tuesday night. “After I pitched the fifth inning, I remember going into the dugout and thinking, ‘I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life, I’m about to throw a no-hitter.’ And when it actually happened, it was just a blur. But I know what I felt, and everything was going right in that moment.”

St. James/Smithtown has the opportunity to match Massapequa Coast’s accomplishment of advancing to Williamsport on Friday when the Bulls play Fairfield (Conn.) National at 7 p.m. It will air on ESPN from Breen Field in Bristol, Connecticut.

Lionetti said the St. James/Smithtown team appeared on his TikTok this week. He was impressed by the team’s offense in the 18-0 and 6-1 victories in the Little League World Series Metro Region Tournament that allowed the Bulls to advance to Friday’s win-or-go-home championship game.

“I saw how good they hit and I was shocked for a Little League team,” Lionetti said. “My advice would be just take everything that it gives you. It’s going to be the greatest experience of your life. Always have a smile on your face because there are always people watching, and it’s going to help your future a lot.”

Clark, one of the 11 players on the 2022 Massapequa Coast team, also reflected on fond memories from the team’s more than two-month run toward reaching the Little League World Series.

“When it was 4-0 [in the regional final] in the final inning and we got those two outs, there was no better feeling than being one out away with all the people watching, being on ESPN, making history,” said Clark, 15. “It was just really something that we never really imagined we could do. But when we were in the moment, it was something we knew we were going to remember for the rest of our lives.”

Clark said he’s been impressed by the St. James/Smithtown squad and offered his advice on how the team can advance to Williamsport.

“Just stay focused,” Clark said. “Don’t think you’re better than anyone else, don’t think you’re hotshots now since you’re on the news, and really just play baseball the way you would want to play. Have fun, take in the moment and be brothers with your team. It’s really all about the focus and the friendship you have with your teammates because that’s what you’re going to remember for your whole entire life.”

The two will never forget arriving at Williamsport, seeing the complex and the dorms they'd be living in. From the arcade, to the cafeteria, to the ESPN setup, they felt like celebrities.

“It felt like we were living in the MLB," Clark said. "We felt so famous and being interviewed every day, signing hats, balls, it was just really something that a 12-year-old should be really excited to do and something a 12-year-old will never forget.”

Roland Clark, Michael’s father, was the manager of the 2022 Massapequa Coast team. He traveled to Bristol to see St. James/Smithtown on Monday, and it brought a rush of emotions.

“Just to watch the excitement of the players and their families to get to enjoy that moment being in the national spotlight on ESPN and have such success, it brought so many good memories back,” he said. “For me as the manager, these are memories that 12-year-old boys will never forget, nor their families.”

“There are a lot of things that have to fall together to get to where we were,” Michael Clark said. “But when you’re with a team like that and you’re with your best friends that you’ve always grown up with, it’s really fun. Baseball is the favorite sport for all of us, so doing that really made our summer in ways we couldn’t imagine but will always remember.”