LOS ALAMITOS – In order to get to its desired destination, Orange Lutheran first needed to navigate its way past a Los Alamitos team that ended the Lancers’ season on the same field last May.
A year older with some new weapons in its arsenal, the Lancers proved they were better equipped to deal with the hostile setting and talented Griffins lineup in the latest installment of this heavyweight showdown.
Junior ace Maddy Dwyer tossed a two-hit shutout, Lauren Espalin hit a two-run home run, and freshman Ciara Briggs dazzled both in the batter’s box and in the field in Orange Lutheran’s 3-0 win over Los Alamitos in a CIF-SS Division 1 semifinal game played in front of a large crowd at Los Al High on Tuesday afternoon.
The Lancers (30-3) advanced to their first CIF championship game since 2002 and will see their Trinity League rival, Mater Dei, for the fourth time this season in this weekend’s final. Orange Lutheran won both league meetings against the Monarchs, but Mater Dei (26-7) won on April 2, the last team to top the county’s top-ranked squad.
“It’s been a process, and we’ve really matured a lot mentally,” Lancers coach Steve Miklos said. “This has been a good year for us schedule-wise. We kind of went over the hump a little bit. We’ve beaten better teams this year, and the girls know they can beat anybody.”
That maturity was evident early, as Dwyer efficiently worked her way through the Los Al (26-3) lineup. Jenna Holcomb collected the Griffins’ only hits – singles in the first and third innings. Los Al did draw five walks, but its two through nine batters went a combined 0 for 19.
Dwyer finished with seven strikeouts and just three runners reached second base.
“We’ve been talking about this since Day One,” Dwyer said. “We had a (preseason) retreat in Arrowhead and a CIF final was our end goal. The fact that we’ve continued to put runs up on the board and play within ourselves is impressive and I’m just incredibly proud of everyone.”
Orange Lutheran jumped to a 1-0 lead in the third when Briggs knocked in Taylor Whitney from second on a single to center. The freshman’s second hit came in the fifth, when she belted a double to the left-center field fence on a two-strike count.
Two batters later, Espalin turned on the first Ryan Denhart pitch of the at-bat, hitting a two-run homer past the crowd of spectators in right-center field for a 3-0 lead.
“It’s fun for me when I see my teammates on base, and I want to get them in any way I can,” Espalin said. “I just wanted to get a hit, and that turned out to be a pretty good one.”
Briggs’ diving catch in center to start the seventh took away what would’ve been a leadoff double for Los Al. The Griffins did draw a pair of walks in the inning, but Dwyer’s seventh strikeout ensured Orange Lutheran’s spot in the final and incited a lively celebration in the circle.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
