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.”

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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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At the games, which cover six team sports, Deanna will share her story and spread the message that it’s okay to ask for help when struggling with mental health.

Athletes will wear either green shoelaces or green wristbands, the official color of Hope for Athletes, during the games to show support and raise awareness for those struggling with mental health issues. At the May 9 softball game, Deanna and her team will don green socks and custom jerseys with the Hope for Athletes logo and the message “Human Over Athlete.” There will also be merchandise for sale at all the games to raise money for the organization.

Deanna started to put together these events at the beginning of the school year in September. She said the community is welcome to attend the games and that she will invite the Board of Education, principal Sean O’Hara, athletic director Brian Sacks and all the school psychologists and counselors to the game.

Deanna was inspired to organize these events after she stumbled across “Hope for Athletes” Instagram account while scrolling the social media platform. Hope for Athletes was founded by Amanda Dahlman, a mental health counselor and former student athlete. The goal of the organization is to encourage athletes to voice their mental health struggles and journeys via social media to help others.

“I saw all the athletes sharing their mental health stories and it really spoke to me because I realized I wasn’t the only one going through all these struggles as an athlete,” Deanna said. “I contacted them, and I really wanted to work with them for this game because I think mental health is so important especially in sports, and I shared my story on their Instagram to reach out to other athletes in this community and also my college has seen it. If it’s touched one athlete, then I’ve done my job.”

In her story featured on their Instagram page titled, “Not a Superhero,” she details a particularly difficult junior year of high school.

“I struggled with mental health more than I would have ever imagined,” she wrote. “I constantly felt drained and mentally absent. I would wake up every day trying to make it to the next one. I struggled with keeping up with my schoolwork and my performance in softball. And usually, softball was the one escape I had from school and my struggles, but then softball felt like the one thing I needed to escape.”

Rich Vlacci, the girls varsity softball team head coach, said he hopes this helps unite student athletes across the board.

“By [Deanna] going to these games and us supporting them and saying hey, we are one in all of this, we are all athletes, we are all Riverhead athletes, we are all part of this same journey, I think it’s going to really bring all sports, golf, tennis, track, baseball, boys and girls sports together and bring us to a community where we are all student over athlete,” Mr. Vlacci said.

Mr. Vlacci said this is “the start of a lot of amazing things to come.” He said they are also planning a game to raise awareness for those affected by cancer as well.

“We plan as a team this year to do a lot of stuff like that and really show the pride that we have for being Riverhead students and teachers and athletes and coaches…being a community member and a former Riverhead grad — this community is amazing. They get behind the students here, the athletes here and I think that this is going to be great for not only the students here but the community as a whole to just see the great stuff that is going on here at Riverhead.”

The dates for the games are:

Varsity boys tennis, April 9 at 4:30 p.m.

Varsity girls lacrosse, April 11 at 4 p.m.

Varsity boys lacrosse, April 30 at 5:15 p.m.

Unified basketball, May 1 at 5 p.m.

Varsity boys baseball, May 8 at 4:15 p.m.

Varsity girls softball, May 9 at 4:30 p.m.

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