Small ball has led to big things for St. John Villa.

Two years ago coach, John Curatolo made the decision to base his team’s offense almost solely around bunting, slapping and speed. It’s turned the Bears into one of New York City’s most unique softball teams and one of the most successful this season.

“I was just sick of our little righties getting up, swinging late and hitting groundballs to first,” he said. “Their speed doesn’t even become a factor because it’s a groundball to first. Now the third baseman and the shortstop have to have a foot race with our kids.”

It’s a competition Villa’s players have been winning most times this season. The top three batters in its order — John’s daughter Mary Curatolo, Ariana Trembone and Brittany Smith — are all batting close to .500 or greater thanks to infield hits. Curatolo said he wants his team to be able slap and bunt, but with runners on be able to turn around and hit. It’s the type of offense that can send defenses and score keepers into a tizzy.

“Slapping was new to them, they weren’t really experienced,” said Smith, a four-year starter. “We have just been practicing it and now it’s working and they are good at it. Our speed is our greatest asset.”

The Bears (6-5) are currently in third place in CHSAA Staten Island and ranked No. 6 in the CHSAA by The Post. They picked up a signature win over Moore Catholic this weekend. It came a few days after dropping a critical game, 11-5, to St. Joseph Hill, a team they’re battling for playoff position and beat them 11-3 earlier this year. Villa also trailed St. Joseph by the Sea, ranked No. 2 in the city by The Post, just 2-1 after five innings in an eventual 8-1 loss on April 26.

“We definitely took it easy on Hill since we beat them the first time,” junior Melanie Boland said. “They were definitely coming to play and we just struggled a little bit. We definitely had to boost up our game when it came to Moore. We knew if we played like we did with Hill we wouldn’t win.”

Smith, the team’s unquestioned star, ensured a victory in the circle. She retired nine straight and 13 of 14 until the sixth. The Mavericks rallied within a run after trailing 7-2, thanks to four RBIs from Melanie Boland. Curatolo decided to intentionally walk the red hot Taylor Baggs to put two on with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“She is going to compete,” Curatolo said of Smith. “You know she is not going to give into the kid.”

The senior made life easy by striking out Nicole DeMartino to end the game. Beating Moore didn’t come as a surprise to the Villa players. They lost a wild 14-11 affair in extra-innings in their season opener and despite sloppy fielding had the winning run thrown out at the plate in the bottom of the seventh. The second-place Mavericks won the second meeting 4-1.

“I knew we had everything to beat them, but the last two times we fell short,” Smith said. “We were determined to beat them. We deserved it.”

The game also featured a lineup changed that moved Trembone to the No. 2 spot after being a second leadoff hitter in the ninth slot. Mary Curatolo is now the leadoff batter and Alissa Setteducato goes from first to the cleanup spot behind Smith and ahead of Boland, who has been one of the team’s best run producers. It’s an attempt to help Villa better cash in on all the base runners it produces. John Curatolo hopes to get Sam Long, the team’s best power threat, going. Nicole Burte is in the ninth hole and going a superb job defensively at second base.

“She is not going to be [former Bear] Stephanie DeMartino, she is not going to be [Taylor] Baggs, she is not going to be [Sea’s] Jackie Kelly,” John Curatolo said of Boland. “She is 5-foot-2. Yea she has a good stick. For us, she can crack the ball.”

The win over Moore and the Mavericks ‘4-3 win against Sea on Monday has Villa believing it can compete with anyone. It was a feeling among the players John Curatolo predicted upon hearing the outcome between the division’s top two squads. Villa hosts the Vikings on May 10 in a game that could have a major effect on the standings.

The Bears’ small ball has them dreaming big.

“It definitely boots our confidence,” Boland said. …“If we can beat Moore then we have a lot of confidence we can beat Sea as well.”