St. James/Smithtown 12U baseball team ready to play Rhode Island in regional tournament

After a week of living like local celebrities following a state championship win, the St. James/Smithtown Little League 12-and-under baseball team is ready to get back to business.

What lies ahead is the Little League World Series Metro Region Tournament in Bristol, Connecticut, beginning Saturday night and ending on Friday. The tournament’s winner will advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

As the team set sail for Connecticut from the Port Jefferson ferry on Friday morning, the players set their sights on returning with more hardware.

Representing New York, St. James/Smithtown begins its regional play against Burrillville (Rhode Island) at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with the tournament’s final three games scheduled to air on ESPN.

“Going into the regional, we just can’t play with all this pressure. We can’t be thinking about the cameras and all that,” Dominic Ciminello said. “I’m just excited to play baseball with my friends.”

While the players have become accustomed to the spotlight and cameras in the last week and had their state tournament games broadcast on YouTube, there is a general sense that the atmosphere and television cameras at Breen Field in Bristol will feel a bit different.

The team announced on Instagram that Bull Smith’s Tavern in Smithtown will host a watch party for Saturday night’s game.

“We’re not talking about it too much with them, but I know they know. We’ll see how they handle it,” assistant coach Eric Hanson said. “I know they’re going to be nervous, but they were nervous for the state championship. Once you start playing, after the first pitch, you just play ball.”

The two other teams in the tournament are Fairfield National (Connecticut) and Jackson Holbrook (New Jersey). The tournament will follow a modified double-elimination format. A loss on Saturday night would put St. James/ Smithtown into the elimination bracket and force the team to win on Sunday and Wednesday to reach Friday’s winner-take-all championship game.

A win on Saturday would place St. James/Smithtown in the winner’s bracket with its second game on Monday. The winner of Monday’s game heads to the final.

In 2023, Massapequa Coast won its first two games in the tournament and was eliminated with its only loss in the final.

“We just have to do our best and try not to think about that there’s like 1,000 people watching us,” James Santelli said. “There wasn’t always a lot of people watching us. Now there’s going to be a lot of people watching and a lot of pressure.”

While some players admitted that they didn’t expect to be heading to Bristol, it’s clear that they belong.

Headlined by Jeremy Katz, Kevin Moran and Ryan Delgado, the pitching staff is deep and backed by a solid defense. Katz and Delgado provide major pop in the middle of a lineup filled with hitters who make opposing pitchers work hard for every out.

“There are teams like Merrick, Massapequa Coast and South Shore from Staten Island, towns that breed baseball,” Katz said. “I don’t think anybody expected us to come this far. My goal was just to make it to states and I would feel accomplished.”

Now the goal is to get to Williamsport and make this storybook summer last as long as possible.

After all, St. James/Smithtown defeated reigning state and Metro Region champion South Shore last Friday.

“You have to go in thinking like they’re all the Staten Island team and they’re invincible,” Katz said. “We definitely have a shot to go far and to Williamsport. I’m excited to see where it takes us.”

By Matt Lindsay

matt.lindsay@newsday.com@mattlinds19

Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.