Ocean View softball drops close game at Segerstrom

As the Golden West League softball season gets underway, it appears that Ocean View High may be better off than initially thought.

When Breann Page graduated, the Seahawks lost the only viable pitching option they had. Ocean View coach Liberty McCollum had to develop some arms for the circle immediately.

The Seahawks returned a number of seniors, five of which drew a start in the team’s league opener at Segerstrom on Friday. None of it would have mattered if the Seahawks had not had some fresh faces come out to the field.

Freshman Desyree Arizmendi and junior Prestine Pablo have stepped up for the team, supplying the needed arms and greater depth than Ocean View had on the rubber all of last year.

Despite a 3-2 loss to the Jaguars, it is not time to panic. The Seahawks proved quite competitive against the defending league co-champions.

The Jaguars improved to 6-7 overall, while Ocean View dropped to 5-6.

Arizmendi threw six innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits. She walked four and struck out three.

McCollum said she was pleasantly surprised to have Arizmendi and Pablo ready to throw at the varsity level.

“Prestine Pablo has really worked hard all offseason,” McCollum said. “She didn’t play today, which is great, because she’ll face them next time we play Segerstrom.”

“Desy coming in ... was just like icing on the cake. It [took] us [from] not competitive to where we can now compete. They’re a good combo together.”

Across the board, the Seahawks’ newcomers did a nice job. Freshman catcher Nivea Armenta had two hits, including an RBI single in the third inning that scored Kim MacPherson.

“It’s been really exciting because I’m starting,” Armenta said of being a key contributor offensively. “It’s a lot more competitive than rec ball.”

Armenta hit third in the order, right behind the Seahawks’ most-experienced player in Po Russ, a catcher who played at shortstop against the Jaguars. Russ, who is committed to Rutgers, narrowly missed a home run down the left-field line in the fifth.

Freshman left fielder Ari Hencke provided the other run, bringing in Caitlyn Sideris on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

After allowing a pair of unearned runs with two outs on a double by Janae Gomez and a single by Liliana Navarro in the third, Arizmendi bounced back. Arizmendi retired eight in a row and 10 of the last 11 she faced.

“At first, everything was getting to me,” Arizmendi said. “I wasn’t really settled in with the fact that it was my first league game.

“Around the fourth inning, I started to just think of it as me and [Armenta]. I was just looking at the glove and letting my defense do the work.”

Senior right fielder Kaylee Dronzkowski saved a run in the first. She threw out Gomez at first on a potential run-scoring single to end the inning.

On the other end, Segerstrom sophomore Hailey Guillen looked every bit like the reigning Golden West League Pitcher of the Year. She induced 10 ground-ball outs and recorded four strikeouts.

“They did really good behind me,” Guillen said. “We made sure that we made our plays and hit the ball well.”

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner