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MISSION VIEJO – When Taylor McQuillin and Alyssa Palomino were on Mission Viejo’s softball team, the combination of power pitching and power hitting took the Diablos to back-to-back CIF-SS title games.

Slugging is still a major part of the Diablos’ equation.

Bella Loya, Camryn Ybarra and Terra McGowan hit home runs, and the Diablos rallied past Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, 5-4, Tuesday in a CIF-SS Division 2 semifinal at Mission Viejo High.

Mission Viejo (26-4) advances to its third consecutive championship game. The Diablos will face Valley View of Moreno Valley (27-1), which defeated top-seeded La Habra, at Irvine’s Bill Barber Park on Saturday.

“I’m so excited that we came out and proved that we could do it this year,” Diablos starting pitcher Kyra Snyder said. “We needed our whole team to do it. We’re ready for that final.”

The Diablos have split their past two championship games. They beat Chino in 2014 before losing to Yucaipa last year. Both games were decided by 1-0 outcomes.

All three of Mission Viejo’s homers led off an inning. McGowan’s tied the score, 4-4, in the sixth. Snyder followed with a double, and she scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Allison Harvey.

Ybarra went 4 for 4 with a home run and a double. She was fired up about the Diablos’ sixth-inning comeback.

“It was amazing,” Ybarra said. “I knew my team could do it. I know my team can always push through.”

“Oaks Christian is … the best team that we’ve faced in CIF. They brought it, but we wanted it more.”

Oaks Christian (30-2-1) posed quite the challenge. The Lions began the season with a 28-game unbeaten streak, and it looked like they had found the right stuff to stave off elimination one more time in the top of the sixth.

Mission Viejo led, 3-1, when Kayla Ketring doubled and Taylor Burns singled to begin the inning. A groundout put the tying run in scoring position.

At that moment, Destiny Diaz appeared to have put the Diablos’ streak of title-game appearances in jeopardy. The Lions’ outfielder hit a three-run shot to straightaway center to give Oaks Christian a 4-3 lead.

“We haven’t been shut out all year, and we weren’t going to get shut out today,” Lions coach Peter Ackermann said. “(The team) accomplished a whole lot this year. I think it’s the second most-winningest season that we’ve had at Oaks Christian.”

Snyder (16-2) threw a complete game with five strikeouts for the win.

Marie Sobel (20-2) took the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) on 11 hits.