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HUNTINGTON BEACH — It’s been an emotional few weeks for Huntington Beach’s softball team, especially senior Rachael Arnold.
The catcher’s boyfriend Joshua Page, 18, and his brother Jeremy, 17, were killed in a car accident earlier this month in Huntington Beach, not far from their school, Edison High.
At the candlelight vigil at Edison on March 7, Arnold spoke first before a crowd of nearly 2,000. Many of her teammates were in attendance, including Oilers star pitcher Zoe Prystajko.
“Zoe has been my rock,” Arnold said of the sophomore. “The first day I came back to school, she was the first person up and talking to me. That connection has just grown stronger.”
The battery’s chemistry was again evident on the softball field Tuesday night. With Arnold handling the impressive riseball of Prystajko, the No. 4 Oilers opened Surf League play with a 3-1 win against No. 3 Los Alamitos at Huntington Beach High.
The left-handed Prystajko fired a two-hitter and struck out 11 en route to her first victory against the Griffins (10-4, 0-1).
“That’s definitely one of the better pitchers in the county right now,” Los Alamitos coach Rob Weil said. “She’s got a riseball that is one of the best in the business right now.”
Prystajko overcame some early control issues before finding her groove, and her work with Arnold was part of the solution
Los Alamitos took a 1-0 lead in the second inning by scoring an unearned run on a passed ball. The Griffins stole three bases but in the fourth, Arnold threw out a runner at third base on a strikeout to end a scoring threat.
“We picked each other up,” Prystajko said of Arnold, a first-year starting catcher. “I know she’s been through a lot and I think just her knowing that I’m OK with whatever happens, happens and … (being) on the same page just kind of comes naturally.”
The Griffins’ fourth inning also nearly included a leadoff home run to center by Taylor Johnson but the ball bounced off the top of the fence for a double.
Huntington Beach (7-3, 1-0) scored all three of its runs with two outs.
Sophia Knight sparked a two-run fifth inning by lacing a two-out single to right. The junior then stole second base before Los Alamitos opted to have pitcher Sydney Saldana intentionally walk Jaylene Duarte with a 1-1 count.
Knight scored after two wild pitches and Duarte followed after Emma McCraw lined a single to left to conclude a 12-pitch at-bat.
“They definitely picked up us a lot, and I think it’s a lot to do with the dugout,” Prystajko said of the two-out runs. “The energy was really good through the whole game.”
“I was really passionate about that the game,” she added.
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Arnold feels the same way about her teammates who have rallied in her time of need. The Oilers players wore green and gold ribbons for the Page brothers and Edison in their hair on Tuesday.
“I wouldn’t be playing right now without this team,” said Arnold, whose family also was friends with Huntington Beach police officer Nicholas Vella who was killed in a police helicopter crash in February. “This team has been amazing with picking me up. It’s unmatched.”