Blue Waves surging as softball playoffs approach
After dominating the competition last year on route to a school-first undefeated regular season — and with most of the team returning — a similar performance from the Riverhead softball squad seemed all but inevitable in 2025. So when they lost a pair of games early on, it was out of the ordinary, but perhaps necessary as the Blue Waves prepare for another shot at the first Suffolk County title in Riverhead softball history.
Despite the less-than-perfect record, head coach Rich Vlacci, Jr. actually thinks this year’s squad is even stronger. The Blue Waves have been playing without their ace, Mya Marelli, in the circle for most of the softball season. But with her slowly easing back into the pitching mix, things have quickly started to turn around.
After Friday’s 15-1 win over William Floyd at Lincoln Ave Sports Complex, Riverhead (11-2 League I) has won six in a row and looks to be in top form as they finish out the back end of their schedule and prepare for the playoffs. Patchogue-Medford (11-3) sat at the top of the division for most of the season but dropped three games amid Riverhead’s winning streak paving the way for the Blue Waves to surge into a well-deserved first place.
“I believe that those losses were really key for us,” Vlacci said. “Last year we didn’t get that chance to focus on the little aspects of our game that we needed to improve. With Mya not always being on the mountain we need to make sure that we are really focused in our positioning defensively as well as making the right plays. We’ve really found our mark of late.”
Photos by Bill Landon
All season thus far it’s been Riverhead’s bats that have set the pace. In the victory over William Floyd, the Blue Waves connected for 17 hits. Marelli and Jordyn Kwasna both had two hits to add to their ridiculous batting output this season.
But it’s been more than just those two reigning All-County players knocking the cover off the softball — just about everyone in the lineup has been raking. Ten players currently boast a batting average of .300 or better. Marelli leads the way with a .500 average, including eight doubles, two home runs and 16 RBIs. Kwasna is not too far behind with a .469 average with five doubles, three home runs and 17 RBIs.
“Anytime you lose you reflect more on your game and think about what you need to do better,” Marelli said. “Nobody likes the feeling of losing.”
“I’m not trying to say that losing was a good thing,” Kwasna added. “But maybe it was because you learn from it. I’m glad that was earlier in the season because we’ve gotten so much better since that time.”
Junior Adriana Martinez has had a renaissance season hitting to a .487 average and knocking in 16 runs. Madison Saladino is hitting .455 with 20 runs scored. Shaylee Bealey and Sophia Viola have each hit over .400 so far. Anywhere you look in the Blue Waves lineup, there’s production. There is not a single “easy out” at the plate for the opposing pitcher.
“Everybody has been hyped up since we beat Patchogue-Medford,” Kwasna said. “We gave them their first loss. I think that was a major turning point in our season. We wanted to prove we’re the better team and we’re going to continue to prove that the rest of the season.”
Marelli has been pitching more of late and even completed a full 7-inning game in a 2-0 victory against Longwood on April 24th.
“The plan was to only throw five innings that day,” Marelli said. “But the game was so close I didn’t want to come out. I wanted to finish out the game. I think I needed to prove to myself that I could still throw seven innings. I was definitely sore the next day but it was a good sore.”
With the slim margin between first and second place, another league title is within grasp for Riverhead. Winning out would guarantee first place.
“Our thought process this year was always taking it a game at a time but honestly the league championship doesn’t mean much to us,” Kwasna said. “For two years in a row we were right on the doorstep of getting into the County championship. We want to get that championship. That’s what we’ve been working so hard for. We have the team to do it. We want to make history, especially for the seniors this year.”
