Los Alamitos, Calvary Chapel Downey in CIF-SS semifinals today

Los Alamitos and Calvary Chapel Downey are playing in CIF Southe Section semifinals this afteoon at 3.

The Griffins (26-2), who are the No. 3 seed in Division 1 and ranked No. 1 nationally by MaxPreps, are at home against No. 2 seeded Orange Lutheran. The Lancers (29-3) are No. 2 by MaxPreps and are coming off of an exciting 9-5 quarterfinal win over Lakewood.

“It feels really good but we want more,” Los Alamitos senior Jea Holcomb said after her team beat Vista Murrieta in the quarterfinals. “We’ve been together since our sophomore year and we’ve worked really hard to get to this point. We want it bad.”

Los Alamitos was eliminated in the quarterfinals last year at Canyon, and the Griffins haven’t been to the semifinals since losing to Canyon in 2011. Mater Dei and No. 4 seeded Norco are in the other Division 1 semifinal.

Orange Lutheran, who is on an 11-game wiing streak, won the Trinity League and put up incredible numbers this season while outscoring its opponents 233-51. Three Lancer pitchers have combined for a 1.22 team-ERA, but Maddy Dwyer is the ace of the staff. The junior won 25 games with a 0.94 ERA this season, including 22 complete games and 11 shutouts. She also stuck out 165 batters and limited opponents to a .173 batting average. Senior Mackenzie Boesel leads Orange Lutheran with .433 batting average, 32 RBIs, 13 doubles and three home runs.

In Division 6, Calvary Chapel Downey (22-2) travels to Paraclete in Lancaster to take on the undefeated Spirits (26-0), who are the No. 1 seed. They’ve outscored their opponents, 327-38.

Calvary Chapel is the No. 4 seed after one of the most successful seasons in school history. The Grizzlies are riding an 11-game wiing streak thanks to a potent offense that has senior Tiana Rodriguez, junior Bella Veloz and freshman Raylene Roybal all hitting above .525 with a combined 96 RBIs.