The Los Alamitos High softball team hung around but could not get the key hit it needed as they lost to Orange Lutheran in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals on May 31 at Los Alamitos High.
Ryan Denhart allowed just four hits, while Orange Lutheran’s Maddy Dwyer kept the Griffins to just two.
The game was a 1-0 battle until the fifth inning when Orange Lutheran’s Lauren Espalin drilled as two-run home run to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Los Alamitos High softball team hung around but could not get the key hit it needed as they lost to Orange Lutheran in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals on May 31 at Los Alamitos High.
Ryan Denhart allowed just four hits, while Orange Lutheran’s Maddy Dwyer kept the Griffins to just two.
The game was a 1-0 battle until the fifth inning when Orange Lutheran’s Lauren Espalin drilled as two-run home run to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Griffins threatened on several occasions, including the bottom of the seventh when they got two runners on with walks before Dwyer ended the game with a strikeout.
A couple off errors also hurt the Griffins, but head coach Rob Weil was happy with the way his team fought.
“You can’t give a team like that second and third chances … we just couldn’t string a couple of hits together,” Weil said.
Weil said that Dwyer was able to get the Griffins to chase high pitches early and they used the outside of the plate as well later in the game.
He said the Lancers had a good scouting report on their offense and used it well.
“We just couldn’t catch up with it,” Weil said.
Jenna Holcomb was 2 for 3 for the only two hits for the Griffins. The loss ended a strong season that saw the Griffins win the Sunset League with a 9-1 record and 23 total wins on the year. The Griffins had strong senior class this year, which Weil said set up the young players to build next year.
“I told the seniors that in 26 years of coaching, this is probably the best senior class I’ve ever worked with, they did everything we asked of them,” Weil said.
