Waldwick’s Carly Tyukody isn’t the Warriors best player, but as coach Mike Kilgallen said, she has become what Waldwick softball is all about.

“It’s about never giving up with her,” the third-year coach said. “It’s about only worrying about things we can control. And there’s a great amount of pride in the way she plays.”

After Waldwick got off to an 0-2 start, it was Tyukody who spoke up in the postgame huddle after a 10-2 loss to Park Ridge. Since that April 3 encounter, the Warriors are 9-1, including three wins against teams that have appeared in The Record softball Top 25 — Hawthorne, Emerson and Midland Park.

“I just said how we need to learn how to deal with disappointment and there’s going to be failure in this game,” said Tyukody, Waldwick’s left fielder. “I noticed it last year, and early this year, but when someone would make an error, someone else would follow with another one. It would be like a snowball effect.