Marelli, exactly a year removed from tearing her labrum, showed the softball world that she’s not only back, but she’s better than ever. No. 3 Riverhead defeated No. 1 — and formerly undefeated Commack — in the winner’s bracket semifinals, 3-0 on Wednesday at Commack High School.

Marelli put together her best performance of her varsity career, pitching her first ever complete game no-hitter, striking out 13 batters. Her stuff was electric all afternoon, leaving batters dumbfounded at the plate. Riverhead had lost this game two years in a row, and Marelli wasn’t going to let it happen again.

“Mya has been struggling getting back to being herself,” Riverhead head coach Rich Vlacci Jr. said. “But she’s got an absolute bulldog mentality, and for her, when the stage is bigger, she just shines brighter. She wanted nothing more than to get on that mountain and prove to everyone that she’s still Mya Marelli.”

Marelli did it with the bat, too. She got Riverhead on the board first with an RBI single, plating Madison Saladino in the first inning to make it, 1-0. And that’s how the score stayed the rest of the game, until the top of the 7th inning when Riverhead tacked on two more runs to close out the winning effort. 

“From the start you could tell this game was going to be a pitcher’s duel,” Vlacci said. “The pitcher for Commack was unbelievable. I think both teams belonged in that game, and they both fought their hearts out.”

Riverhead (18-3) only managed to get four hits themselves. Saladino had two, Marelli had the one in the first inning and Jordyn Kwasna connected on a single later in the game. Commack’s Kate Schweitzer struck out 16 batters on the day but ended up being outdueled by Marelli.

With the victory, Riverhead is just one win away from making school history. There’s never been a Suffolk County softball champion from Riverhead. Being the winner’s bracket finalist affords them two games to get the win since their opponent will be coming into the game with one loss already in the double-elimination style tournament. 

They will face the winner of No. 1 Commack and No. 2 Sachem North Saturday, May 31, at 3 p.m. The game will be played at Martha Avenue Athletic Complex in Bellport. 

“We have to just make sure we stick to our identity and don’t lose sight of who we are,” Vlacci said. “No matter who we play, they’re not going to hand us anything. Right now, we’re happy but the job is not finished. We just have to get out there and play our style of softball.”

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But while the Blue Waves have stitched another year onto the league title banner hanging in the gymnasium, the Suffolk County championship space remains bare. Once the playoffs start, this group hopes to change that.

On April 15, Riverhead lost to Patchogue-Medford, 5–6, marking their third loss of the season. A year after going 20–0 in league play, question started to be raised. Was this team as good as last year’s?

“That was the whole thing,” senior outfielder Isabella D’Andrea said. “People started to say we weren’t as good this year. We knew we were better this year. Maybe the losses didn’t show it at first, but we knew.”

That final loss of the regular season must have sparked something inside the Blue Waves because since then, they’ve done nothing but win, rattling off 11 straight victories to close out the season — including two wins against Patchogue-Medford, who sat undefeated at the top of the division for most of the year. On Thursday, Riverhead left no question about which is the best team in the division.

With a playoff-like atmosphere, both teams understood the importance of Thursday’s contest. A win would mean a top seed in the Class AAA Suffolk County playoffs and possibly a home-field advantage throughout. The stakes were high.

“We knew the type of game this was going to be,” junior shortstop Adriana Martinez said. “They’re a tough team, and we were really looking forward to playing them.”

Riverhead didn’t waste any time getting on the board. After Martinez singled to open the game, Jordyn Kwasna knocked her in with a single past the shortstop. With two runners on, D’Andrea connected on a single that bounced through the middle and plated another two to take a 3–0 lead by the end of the inning. 

“I wouldn’t call it making a statement,” head coach Rich Vlacci Jr. said. “This is just us. This is what we do. I don’t think we had anything to prove. We have done it all year long.”

In 18 league games this season, Riverhead has scored 201 runs — breaking their record from last season. The crack of the bat just kept getting louder as the game went on.

Two more runs were tacked on in the second inning on an opposite field double off the bat of pitching ace Mya Marelli. In the fifth inning, the Blue Waves broke the game open. Even with a Patchogue-Medford pitching change in the middle of the inning, Riverhead just refused to make an out. 

Eight straight hits in the inning led to six runs and a crooked scoreboard against a team that by the standings should have kept it close. Sophia Viola and Morgan Gajowski both launched 2-RBI hits in the inning. Shaylee Bealy produced one of her three singles on the day.

“When we’re stringing hits together like that, our confidence is just at an all-time high,” Bealy said. “We didn’t want that inning to end. Everyone was building off of each other’s energy.”

Though Patchogue-Medford was able to score a few more runs, they never really threatened Riverhead the rest of the game. When the Raiders started building some momentum, Bealy made an incredible diving play at second base to instantly stop them in their tracks. 

By extending the lead, Riverhead was able to pull Marelli after throwing five innings with limited damage.

With the regular season wrapped up, the Blue Waves will await their playoff seeding as the rest of the teams play out the string. Vlacci predicts they will likely be the No. 2 seed or, at worst, No. 3, because some teams in League II have better records. Riverhead is still assured a home playoff game Wednesday, May 21, when the postseason opens.

“Last year we were really focused on winning the league because it hadn’t been done in so long,” Bealy said. “But we have higher goals now. We want that county championship. Everyone is locked in.”

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The varsity softball team changed their identity from 2023 when they relied mostly on Mya Marelli’s arm and small ball — often winning games by one run. When Rich Vlacci Jr. took over the program in 2024, he emphasized hitting through the ball, finding gaps and smoking home runs. Safe to say, most of the team didn’t believe in what they could do last year but they bought in. Wins and blowouts became their identity. They won the league title for the first time in over a decade and were the first Riverhead softball team to register an undefeated season. They set a school record for runs scored.

Though they came up short at the end of the season in winning a county championship, most of the group who has been around the program for years return better, stronger and more confident than ever before.

“As much as I would love to repeat what we did last year with another undefeated regular season, that’s not what we’re after,” Vlacci said. “We want the county championship this year. We want to make it to the state championship. We have that ability.”

But with their ace on the shelf for the beginning of the season, Vlacci has established a theme for this year’s squad: one thing at a time.

“It’s not like we’re going to have our pitcher run out there and give up only one run a game or shut out the team like the other years with Mya being hurt,” Vlacci said. “It’s focusing on one thing at a time. One at-bat at a time, one play at a time, one inning at a time and one game at a time. We can’t overthink and solely focus on of our end goal which is to eventually be the first Riverhead softball team to win the county championship.”

Marelli will play the outfield to start the season, and her bat is as good as ever. Jordyn Kwasna and Sophia Viola return after an All–County season. Adriana Martinez returns to her shortstop role she’s had since eighth grade. Her second base counterpart, Shay Bealy, has been a fixture in the lineup for years and is a captain this season. Bella D’Andrea returns after hitting three home runs last year, including a seventh inning semifinal playoff blast that almost saved the season. The whole starting lineup either started or saw significant playing time last year. 

The hitting numbers of Riverhead’s big three were gaudy. Kwasna hit to the tune of a .483 average, cranked three home runs and contributed 24 RBIs. Marelli posted a batting average of .475, along with three home runs and 20 RBIs. As a freshman last year, Viola hit .458 from the plate, scored 25 runs, stole 13 bases and didn’t commit a single error while playing centerfield. 

“I know I had a good year last year, but I want to get better,” Kwasna said. “All of us do. We know we have to put in the work. Each of us can always improve. Like Vlacci has told us, it’s one thing at a time. And for me, it’s really shrinking it down to one pitch at a time and not swinging at wild pitches.”

As the team took batting practice last week, there was no goofing around. A calculated effort to improve was on display from everyone who stepped into the batter’s box. 

“We all know that practice is the key to success,” Marelli said. “Even as a captain, there’s no need to try to get everyone focused because they all know what’s at stake. And this is my last year here, so we want to make this a special season.”

Five seniors graduated last year, including Kaysee Mojo and Deanna North, who were both crucial to team chemistry. Their leadership will be hard to replace but with the “big-little” system Vlacci employs — pairing veteran players with underclassmen to serve as a mentor, Viola, who will be catching this year, learned a great deal from Mojo last season. D’Andrea will be moving over to North’s position at first base this season.

“The way (Mojo) was always so positive around everyone is something I immediately recognized last year,” Viola said of her former “big.” “She put in the work and got results and tried to make everyone better around her as well. I learned a lot from her that I bring into my own game now.”

Viola will share catching duties with Madison Saladino who started to really come into her own at the plate last year as a freshman, especially in the playoffs. 

Martinez, a true veteran despite being a junior, is now a mentor to Morgan Gajowski, an eighth grader. Vlacci couldn’t keep her off the roster after seeing her in the practices. 

“This is my first eighth grader on varsity,” Vlacci said. “I don’t even have any ninth graders on the team. She’s somebody who is going to work really hard. She has a phenomenal glove and can play outfield, shortstop, second, backup pitcher — whatever we need. She also doesn’t back down in the batter’s box. I think just being around this group is going to do so much for her. And she’ll get playing time. You just can’t keep her off the field.”

The team is locked and loaded for a serious championship run. The seniors lead what could be the most talented team Riverhead softball has ever had. 

“I’ve had such a great experience with all of these girls over the years,” Bealy said. “All my best friends are on this team. We’re truly a family, and that’s what makes this team special. We all want the best for one another, and hopefully, we end this year being able to say we’re the champions.”

Riverhead opens the league season at William Floyd Saturday, March 29th.

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Though Marelli had general soreness throughout the season — and throughout her softball career  —  which eventually went away, when she begn to pitch against Sachem East, the pain in her arm was nothing she’d felt before.

“I’m thinking to myself that I can get through this,” Marelli said. “This was our chance to make history. I wanted to get into that Suffolk County championship game. I told Coach [Rich] Vlacci that I was good to go but deep down I knew something was wrong.”

The lefty fireballer was named an All-state selection after the season and earned the title “Big Schools Pitcher of the Year” in Suffolk County. She was dominant and nobody felt confident being in the box against her. In 122 innings pitched, Marelli struck out 221 batters. Her ERA was .918. Simply put, there was no one better to take the mound that day.

So when Sachem East started to get some hits off of Marelli, it was obvious that there was something seriously wrong. Cautiously, Vlacci took her out of the game and inserted her into the outfield for the last few innings. Riverhead would go on to lose, 6-0, and was placed in the loser’s bracket for another chance of making it to the finals. 

Marelli’s arm didn’t get any better but she refused to sit in the dugout and insisted on at least playing in the outfield for the game against North Babylon. Luckily, in the game prior she didn’t have to make any throws — but against the Bulldogs she got tested.

“I had to make a long throw home so I didn’t think twice about it,” Marelli said. “I’m a competitor first and I wasn’t thinking about my arm at that point. But when I released it that pain really set in again but I didn’t care. All I wanted was for us to get into the championship.”

Unfortunately Riverhead fell to North Babylon, 6-5, that day and their season ended. It left Marelli wondering if she’d ever be able to pitch again. A postseason MRI revealed no damage. It was just a case of overuse, in the doctor’s opinion. Rest and physical therapy were the only remedies.

But it wasn’t as if Marelli had pitched much more last season than she did in her sophomore year. In fact, she actually pitched less. In 2023, she threw 1,951 pitches and in 2024 she threw 1,882. It’s customary for a softball pitcher to throw every game and for the most part, Marelli has done that her whole career. Between travel ball and often throwing in multiple games a day, plus bullpen sessions and pitching for the Blue Waves, it was just constant grind on her arm.

“I was also not taking care of my arm the way I was supposed to,” Marelli said. “After I got hurt I found out how to properly prep and stretch. I found out what I need to do afterwards to keep my arm fresh. I just never really thought about it before. I have pitched all my life and there was some soreness but that was normal to me.”

After doing the therapy and resting for a month, Marelli’s arm didn’t improve. She went for a second opinion and after looking at the MRI, the new doctor said the same thing. It left the rising senior really worried about her future. It took a visit to a third doctor and another MRI scan with to reveal that she had partially torn her labrum.

“Even though in actuality it was bad news, in a way, I was happy that they found what was actually going on,” Marelli said. “It was either do concentrated therapy for the actual labrum and risk it tearing further or have surgery and prevent it from tearing all together. We decided on surgery.”

But the surgery and being in a sling really challenged Marelli’s mental fortitude. Physical therapy sessions often ended in tears for the gunslinger. She was convinced she would never pitch again. She wanted to play softball in college. She wanted to pitch. That is what she loves to do.

“I was barely able to move my arm after surgery,” Marelli said. “Maybe an inch or two. It was really discouraging. But over time it started to improve.”

In fact her arm improved so fast that Marelli’s already been cleared to throw — something that wasn’t originally expected until the middle of the season. Even so, Vlacci is taking it slow.

“We’re just following the doctor’s orders for now,” Vlacci said. “Even though she’s cleared, we don’t want to rush her back. The goal is that when the season does come around and she’s comfortable with doctor clearance, to just throw one inning to hopefully close out the game. We’re not worried about the regular season. We want her to be ready for the playoffs.”

In the meantime, last year’s JV pitcher, Amber Farruggia, will handle most of the pitching load as Marelli builds herself back into shape. Marelli was doing slow-arm circle pitches on the sidelines on Friday and is in the best shape of her life. The injury pushed her to work on her legs and other parts of her body she never really focused on.

“I think she’s going to come back better than ever,” Vlacci said. “And that’s scary to think because she was already the best pitcher on Long Island.”

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The Blue Waves were tasked with defeating No. 2 North Babylon without Big Schools Pitcher of the Year Mya Marelli, who injured her arm in Riverhead’s first loss of the season against Sachem East Monday. Although she could play in the field and hit, pitching was off the table. Such a loss could have sent any team into panic mode, but not the Blue Waves. 

Riverhead has always preached how every single member of the team is an essential contributor, and last Thursday was the ultimate test of that philosophy. Mikayla Nirrengarten took the responsibility of bringing Riverhead into the Suffolk County championship game and put the team on her shoulders. The senior gave it her all and certainly pitched well enough to earn her team a victory. 

“I told them before the game, that all season long, as good as Mya was, everyone contributed to this season’s success,” head coach Rich Vlacci said. “And today we got to show everyone that. Mikayla is a terrific pitcher, she’s different from Mya in that she’s more of a finesse pitcher that gives up ground balls and we have to make the plays behind her. I’m so proud of Mikayla. She did everything we needed her to do.”

Nirrengarten kept North Babylon off the board for the first four innings, by inducing weak fly balls and routine infield grounders. The score was tied 0-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth.

Riverhead had struggled to hit against Sachem East in the previous game and their troubles seemed to bleed into their tilt against North Babylon. But something clicked in the bottom of the fourth inning. After Marelli got on with a lead-off walk, senior captain Kaysee Mojo, who has been the heart and soul of the team all year long, battled through an eight-pitch at bat, fouling off pitch after pitch, until finally connecting on a double to the right field gap.

“After Kaysee’s at bat I saw the belief in the girls,” Vlacci said. “I think when you’re struggling, you need that big hit to kind of open things up. And I thought in the bottom of the fourth inning, we did that.”

Adriana Martinez, down 0-2 in the count, delivered when the team needed it, sending a line drive up the middle, scoring two runs and giving Riverhead its first lead of the game.

“Scoring there was huge for our confidence,” Vlacci said. “That next inning, though, things happened and unfortunately we didn’t make the plays when we needed to. Nine times out of 10, our girls make those plays. We’re phenomenal on the defensive side. We just had one rough inning.”

Three errors by the Blue Waves led to five runs in the top of the fifth, including a controversial play at the plate when the umpire ruled the runner safe even though the throw clearly beat her. 

To Riverhead’s credit, they kept fighting. Even with two outs in the bottom of the 7th inning, then trailing by four runs, the never-say-die attitude of the Blue Waves shined through. Marelli hit a single and then Mojo followed up with a single of her own to put two runners on with two outs. Bella D’Andrea got up and after fouling off a few pitches, launched the ball over the left field fence to cut the lead to just one. 

But that was as close as the Blue Waves got. A few plays could have changed the outcome, but that’s softball. Things don’t always fall your way. But for 20 games, they did, and that’s something for the Blue Waves to be proud of.

“I’m happy we got to hang a banner, but I wanted these seniors to go out with a county title so badly,” Vlacci said. “These seniors deserved it. They put in the work. They went through the bumps and bruises to get us to where we are now.”

What the Blue Waves accomplished this season transcends sports. And Vlacci couldn’t be more proud of the group he had this season.

“I truly think these girls made a tremendous impact on our town,” Vlacci said. “The community has been buzzing about our success and you can see it in the crowds that come to our games. We have 150 people show up to our home games. No other team gets that. And that’s what these girls did. They got the town behind them. This town has been starving for a team like we used to have in football years ago. And lacrosse was able to bring it back as well this year. Riverhead is making its way back. We’re happy to make our town proud, and we will continue to make them proud through the years. We’ll be back.”

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The last game of the season — a 6-5 extra inning thriller that knocked Half Hollow Hills West out of playoff contention — was the closest Riverhead came to actually losing. Mya Marelli smashed the walk-off hit in the 10th inning that day.

“We finally had one of those games that we were thinking ‘we might lose this,’” head coach Rich Vlacci said. “It was good to see that we’re not invincible. But at the same time we realized we can perform under pressure and can come up clutch when we need it. It was a great experience rolling into the playoffs.”

“We didn’t go 17-0 for nothing,” Marelli said of that win. “We had to finish the job.”

Some say that not having a loss could be a blessing and a curse. Losing tends to give teaching moments that help a team grow.

“I teach sports psychology so I tell the kids all the time that I feel that it’s almost important to have a loss,” the coach said. “What it does is it kind of shows you what’s wrong. When you constantly win you don’t nitpick at the flaws because you’re having success. The best thing about the group we have is that even with all the success, we’ve nitpicked so many little things to say even though we are doing well, we can do better. The girls reciprocated that and that’s why we are where we are.”

Riverhead showed no signs of slowing down Tuesday as they took apart a familiar opponent in League I foe Ward Melville. Playing in front of perhaps the largest crowd of the season, where extra bleacher seats were installed behind the outfield fence, the Blue Waves dominated from the start and secured a 7-2 victory to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Before the playoffs began, coaches in Suffolk County had a meeting and decided on players who would receive all-county honors, among a plethora of other awards. Riverhead came away with four all-county players in Marelli, Jordyn Kwasna, Sophia Viola and Kaysee Mojo. Marelli was also named the Big Schools Pitcher of the Year.

“It’s definitely a major accomplishment to be recognized for all the hard work we put in,” Kwasna said. “Individual stuff is cool but we’re after history. We’re more focused on our team goals and trying to win Riverhead its first softball county title.”

Riverhead’s big four played a major part in Tuesday’s victory. Marelli threw a complete game, allowing only one earned run and striking out 10. Viola connected on two hits and scored two runs. Kwasna mashed two opposite field line drive hits, scored two runs and recorded an RBI. Mojo, who got a bloody nose and missed an at-bat, had two hits and drove in two runs.

“We’ve played our whole season in small increments,” Mojo said. “This is just our next four-game stretch. We have all the small goals to make sure we can make it to our main goal. This win was massive to start off the playoffs.”

Vlacci’s “job’s not finished” mantra, which is plastered all over the Blue Waves’ gear, refers to taking that next step that eluded them last year. Being one game away from making it to the Suffolk County championship still weighs on the minds of the Blue Waves. 

“The vibes this year are so much different,” Marelli said. “We love being here and we love playing on this team. It’s almost like we wanted it to end last year. We weren’t having fun. We’re all in it this year. We’re all committed to the same goal. There’s no drama. We’re all about business.”

“We play for what’s on the front of our jersey,” Mojo added. “Not what’s on the back. We truly are here for one another and want the best for everyone.”

Riverhead needs three more wins to be crowned Suffolk County champions. Up next is League II’s Commack, which defeated No. 5 Connetquot, 12-4 on Tuesday. The quarter-final was moved to Saturday at 11 a.m. Riverhead High School. Being the No. 1 seed, Riverhead will play home games the rest of the way. Riverhead didn’t face Commack during the regular season.

“I think that’s good, not having played Commack,” Vlacci said. “Sometimes you go into a game and you overthink. We haven’t seen them but they haven’t seen us, either. I think our reputation is going to speak loudly for itself. For us though, no matter who we play, the same mindset has to occur. We have to be aggressive and we have to be focused. Nothing changes with our opponent, we just have to play our style of game.”

The post Softball: Blue Waves cap historic season appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

With a 7-0 victory over Walt Whitman on Monday afternoon at Riverhead High School, the Blue Waves have started the season 10-0, sending clear signals throughout Suffolk County that they are the team to beat this year. 

After making the playoffs last year as a relatively unknown team, the Blue Waves ripped through their playoff opponents one game at a time, falling just one win short of making it to the Suffolk County finals. 

Still relatively young last year, the squad started clicking late in the season and that’s parlayed into this season. But the biggest difference between last year to this year is this team absolutely clobbers the ball. They’ve gone from small ball — stealing bases and bunting runners over — to cracking lightning bolts over the fence multiple times a game.

On Monday, seniors Kaysee Mojo and Mikayla Nirrengarten both hit home runs to lead Riverhead to victory. Through 10 games this season, the Blue Waves have already hit nine home runs. Last year, they hit four. Mojo, a gritty catcher and one of the team leaders, hit her third of the season against Walt Whitman. 

“Kobe [Bryant] has the great quote that says you always have to work harder in practice than you do in games,” Riverhead head coach Rich Vlacci said. “We’ve been emphasizing hitting all year and they’ve bought into it. We watch a lot of film and highlight our flaws. You see it in Kaysee. She started out not as strong and hitting around .220. She’s dedicated so much time and effort towards it. She’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve been around and to see a senior working so hard it feeds down to everyone else.”

Mojo has upped her batting average to .433 and has become one of the most potent hitters in the lineup. She went 3-for-4 with two RBIs on Monday, including a double that nearly knocked the cover off the ball.

“You have all these girls around you that are ready to pick you up if you do fail,” Mojo said. “You always have that second chance the next at bat. Nobody gets down on one another on this team and I think that’s a big part of our success.”

But Riverhead is no one trick pony and Mojo isn’t the only one raking the ball. Six Blue Waves batters are hitting over .400 at this point of the season. Jordyn Kwasna, who Vlacci calls one of the best hitters in the county, is sporting an average of .559. Sophia Viola, a freshman, leads off for the Blue Waves and hits .500. 

“It’s nice to know that your one and three hitters are productive like that,” Vlacci said. “The more they get on the more we can score runs. But we’re definitely not top heavy, we can hit from the top to the bottom of the order in any given inning.”

Mya Marelli, Adriana Martinez, and Bella D’Andrea are all hitting at least .400. D’Andrea and Marelli lead the team in RBIs with 16 and 14 respectively. 

But as much as the Blue Waves have been hitting, it would be remiss not to mention Marelli’s pitching prowess as the junior phenom consistently records zeros on the score board with an unprecedented amount of strikeouts along the way. Marelli struck out 15 batters Monday and has now eclipsed 100 strikeouts on the season with an ERA of 1.099.

“Last year I hit 100 much later in the season so I’m proud that I achieved it earlier this year,” Marelli said. “I don’t come into every game thinking we are going to win. Anything can happen. I do my best and we’re always positive and that’s helping us a lot.”

“When she’s on there’s nobody better,” Mojo said. “I love catching her. The difference between her fastball to her change-up is insane. She always has the hitters unbalanced.”

Vlacci never forgets to credit his coaching staff for the early success. Assistants Kate Devinney and Forrest Vail work the dugout for the Blue Waves.

“Each of us brings something different to the table,” Vlacci said. “Each girl can go to one of us for whatever it is they need to work on. We each have an ability to fix a flaw. It’s so nice to have extra eyes you trust. You’ve seen Mya’s success, I can’t say enough about the way Kate calls the game and works with her. Forrest is only a volunteer coach but he’s literally watching hours of film every night. He works one-on-one with the girls and puts balls in certain spots and explains body motion. It’s just contagious. We’re all after one goal.”

The short-term goal is the league title, which Riverhead hasn’t won since 2011, the same year they last claimed the Suffolk County crown. They have big games coming up this week including two against second place Sachem East (7-1).

“We have a special team,” Vlacci said. “It’s not just one person, it’s a collective. The expectations are lofty this year. They want the title. They are committed to being better every week. To be able to bring a sense of pride back to Riverhead means the world to us. Our crowd grows every week. We love this place and only want the best for it.”

‘We have a special team. To be able to bring a sense of pride back to Riverhead means the world to us.’

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With back-to-back games scheduled, it was decided that Riverhead’s No. 1 pitcher Mya Marelli would enter the game in relief against Ward Melville to limit the strain on her pitching arm this early in the season. Naturally not having your ace on the mound gives the other team hope. Compounding that with missing the leadoff hitter, Sophia Viola, who has an ankle injury, along with speed threat, Tiffany Perez who had other obligations, Riverhead needed a full team effort.

Mikayla Nirrengarten took the pitcher’s circle and kept Ward Melville at bay. The senior pitched 3 and ⅔ innings and only surrendered one run. She kept the opponents off-balanced and forced hitters into groundouts every time there was a threat to score.

“I think Mikayla proved today that she’s not just someone to throw out there,” Vlacci said. “She’s out here to compete. And she’s trying to show everybody that maybe if she wasn’t in Mya’s shadow, she’d be our starting pitcher.”

Marelli took the mound with two outs and two runners on in the fourth and struck out the final batter of the inning sending a spark through the team. To that point, Riverhead was being no-hit and down 1-0. Then Jordyn Kwasna stepped to the plate with two outs on the board. The sophomore laced a double down the left field line, just outside of the outstretched glove of the diving left fielder. 

“I had this controlled anger in me,” said Kwasna, who also made an acrobatic, shoe-string catch in right field the prior inning. “It wasn’t at anyone specifically, I just wanted to win. I wanted to crush the ball and make an impact on the game.”

Deanna North then stepped up to the plate and mashed a single up the middle to drive in the tying run. It was a cool, calm and collected moment for the senior.

“I was just thinking bat on ball,” North said. “Simply get on base. Keep this rally going and do my job. And let the person behind me do their job.”

Fellow senior Kaysee Mojo took that opportunity to hit a ball to right field that quickly got past the outfielder and trickled to the fence for a triple, giving Riverhead its first lead of the game. 

“I like to keep the lineup the same every game,” Vlacci said. “I like the girls to get comfortable in their spot in the lineup. But with Voila out, Kwasna gets to be in that five hole and gets a chance to get that rally-sparking hit. It’s funny how things work out.”

From there it was lights out for Ward. With the ball in Marelli’s hands, two runs would be enough for the Blue Waves to come out with a victory. Marelli recorded eight strikeouts in three innings of work and didn’t allow a hit. The reigning League I pitcher of the year simply closed up shop.

“I have confidence in tough situations like that,” Marelli said. “I like being in pressured situations so it didn’t really bother me entering the game without a true pregame warmup. I had some anger in me with how the game was going. I knew the team needed me in that spot and I’m glad I could come through for them.”

With the victory, the Blue Waves have started the season with an unblemished 3-0 record and are trying to build a championship contender. They have all the pieces to do it.

“We were one game away from winning the league last year,” North said. “We want to end this season with a bang. We’re so hungry for the league title that we were stripped of last year. We want to win so bad. Even in a game like this where we struggled to hit, the feeling in the dugout was always positive. We knew we were going to come out on top.”

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“Job’s not finished,” Vlacci said. “That’s what we have stressed all off-season. We’re proud of how far we got last season. One win away from league champions. One win away from making it to the Suffolk County championship. But we want more. And this team has what it takes.”

The Blue Waves have steadily improved over the last three seasons, going from 6-10, to 11-10 and then to 15-9 last year. This year, having graduated only two players, they’re expected to take a major jump forward again. 

A major part of that turnaround was the emergence of Mya Marelli, who took over the starting pitching spot around the midpoint of the season after an injury to then-senior Bree Mckay. The lefty sophomore posted a 1.91 ERA with 186 strikeouts in only 126 innings of work. Marelli was named the League I Pitcher of the Year at the end of the season. She also mashed the softball to the tune of a .511 batting average.

“I had an opportunity to step up for my team last year and I didn’t want to let them down,” Marelli said. “I just did the best I could and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”

“I’ve had Mya since eighth grade,” said Riverhead assistant coach Kate Devinney. “She’s just continued to get better every year. She puts in a lot of hard work and she’s dedicated to her craft. I love the way she pitches on the mound. I love her attitude toward softball and her mindset. Sky’s the limit for her, honestly. She’s got the makings of a collegiate pitcher for sure.”

After her spectacular season, Marelli only went harder this offseason to get better and increase her confidence. Although her ability to throw the ball hard instantly sets her apart from her peers, life in the pitcher’s circle comes with loads of stress.

“I’m just trying to be more confident out there, really,” Marelli said. “I did a ton of camps and clinics this offseason to try to get better. I’m trying to have the right mindset with every batter that steps in the box. Where to throw it if they’re inside or if they’re outside. To try to pick up on certain things the batters like to do. I’m definitely more educated this year than last year, so that’ll be a big bonus for me.”

But one player doesn’t win you championships. Any coach would love the opportunity to have Marelli to build around. When asked to speak about a select few of stars for the upcoming season, Vlacci rattled off all 13 names on his roster and mentioned how they will help the team this season.

“Everybody has a role here,” Vlacci said. “I’ve been very transparent about what I need and we need contributions from everyone. We’re only as good as our 13th player.”

Riverhead will feature five seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen — getting representation from each class. Around Marelli, the starting infield figures to be Kaysee Mojo behind the plate, Deanna North at first, Shaylee Bealy at second, Adriana Martinez at shortstop and Isabella D’Andrea at the hot corner. The outfield will be a rotation of Jordyn Kwasna, Sophia Volia, Kelly Colombus, Emma Freeborn, Mikayla Nirrengarten and Madison Saladino. Tifany Perez, who Vlacci says is one of the fastest girls in the school, will get time at second and third bases.

North figures to be a major bat in the lineup in her final season as a Blue Wave, after sporting a .353 batting average her junior season. Before last season, she was named one of Newsday’s top 100 players on Long Island and is ready to show the world why. 

“I really want to win a league championship,” North said. “I want to go far. We’ve done so much as a team since we were little. I just want to win. If we win leagues, job’s not finished. If we win the county, let’s go win Long Island. Why not win the states? This is the best team we’ve assembled here in the time I’ve been here.”

Martinez had an on base percentage of .469 in her freshman season in the leadoff spot. She’s played a smooth shortstop to boot.

“We’re all just trying to improve and get better,” Martinez said. “My mentality is always that I have to set the tone in the first at bat of the game. If I get on we’re that much closer to scoring a run.”

After winning games with great pitching, defense and small ball, a lot of the offseason has been dedicated to hitting.

“We’ve done a lot of different stations with a lot of different fundamentals,” Vlacci said. “Working inside pitches, working outside pitches, front hand, back hand. We worked on weighted balls and partner drills with reactions to help with quickness. We did a lot of tracking where the girls just stood in the box and watched Mya pitch when we were inside. Learning to understand the spin, recognizing the velocity. There’s always room to improve.”

Vlacci also teaches a class in sports psychology at Riverhead. Born and raised in Riverhead, where he continues to raise his family, Vlacci is trying to restore a sense of pride into Riverhead sports.

“I love this place to death,” Vlacci said. “I bleed blue deeper than anybody. We had a lot of success when I went to school here. Riverhead is not looked at the same anymore. I want to turn this around. I want these girls to be able to come back to the school when they’re older and point up to the rafters and say, ‘You see that banner up there? I was on that team.’ This team can do it. But they have to do it together.”

Riverhead opens the season on Friday, March 22, at home against Patchogue-Medford.

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