St. James-Smithtown Little League pounds Rhode Island to reach Metro tourney semifinals

Behind big bats and starting pitcher Jeremy Katz, St. James-Smithtown is moving on.

The reigning New York State champions pulverized Rhode Island’s Burrillville Little League 18-0 to reach the Metro tournament’s semifinals on Saturday night in Bristol, Conn.

Long Island’s finest are now two wins away from the Little League World Series after the opening-round rout.

“It means a lot to see that anybody in our lineup can get a base knock,” Katz, New York’s home run derby champ who drove in three runs himself over Burrillville, told The Post.

“Confidence is a big part of our game. … It’s what separates us from other teams right now.”

Some initial pregame jitters came with playing on ESPN, but a second-inning RBI from left fielder Lucas Kostas got the Bulls right where they wanted to be.

“Once we scored that one run, we were confident, we had our ace on the mound, and we had everyone ready to go,” center fielder Kevin Moran said after his own three-RBI evening.

Rhode Island starting pitcher Jace Detonnancourt later left the mound in the third inning with a throwing arm injury after tallying six strikeouts.

The New York boys then blew the game wide open and poured it on into the sixth, as the Bulls scored 11 runs and brought 17 batters to the plate as the away team.

“You want to keep the energy going, you want to keep the good swings going, and so on until the next game,” Long Island manager Scott Santelli said.

Katz hunkered down through 4 ¹/₃ innings, striking out nine and allowing just two hits and a walk.

Kostas, who had four RBIs, later shifted to the mound and struck out the side to close out the sixth.

“With a victory like that, we’re good in all of our pitch counts,” Santelli said.

“I didn’t expect to win by 18, but it was the start we wanted and needed. And now, we’re off to the races.”

St. James-Smithtown, which rang up 15 hits, now plays Connecticut’s hometown heroes, Fairfield National, in the winner’s bracket semifinal at 1 p.m. Monday. The losing team plays a do-or-die at 7 p.m. Wednesday to reach Friday’s final.

“We’re all locked in, and we’re all excited to play,” Katz said.