The center of the California softball universe converged in Anaheim Canyon High in Orange County on Friday when top-ranked Mission Viejo faced off against No. 2 Orange Lutheran in the semifinals of the postponed Michelle Carew Classic.

For Orange Lutheran, the long wait was worth it. Uncommitted junior catcher Lauren Espalin connected on a two-out, walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to give OLu (22-3) the 6-2 victory over the Diablos (19-3).

"Lauren's clutch," OLu coach Steve Miklos said. "She gets big hits for usand she's done it throughout the season. She had a good pitch to hit and drilled it. I think their pitcher relaxed a little bit after getting the out, getting the pop up to give her two outs with the bases loaded. You know, that kind of takes the pressure off. She just made a mistake and Lo hit it. It happens. It may have been a good pitch, but Lo got all of it. I was like, 'Get out of here.' It was a pretty exciting finish for us."

Mission Viejo's loaded lineup was able to get 10 hits off Stanford-committed Maddy Dwyer. The Lancers had stellar defense with South Carolina-bound shortstop Mackenzie Boesel and Dwyer working out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. Dwyer got a ground out with a runner at third to end the seventh to pull off the victory.

The Lancers (22-3), who are undefeated in Trinity League play, have league games at JSerra on Tuesday before a rubbermatch against No. 7 Santa Ana Mater Dei (21-4) on the road on Friday. Mater Dei beat OLu, 6-0, in the semifinals of the Alan Dugard Classic on April 2. The Lancers have won 10 straight since that loss, including a 9-1 victory over the Monarchs in the rematch.

OLu faces No. 3 Huntington Beach for the Carew Classic title on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Canyon High.

“Honestly, I just think for me, personally, and Maddy and pretty much our whole team, every game to us is important," Espalin said. "It could be a scrimmage and we would still take it like it was CIF finals. The most important thing is every we game we go into is a new game, a new day, and what you did last game or yesterday doesn’t really matter. What matters is the pitch, the new inning, the next play.”

Huntington Beach (18-3) vaulted to No. 3 in the state rankings after knocking off former No. 1 Los Alamitos, 3-2, on April 21, but the Oilers stumbled to a 5-3 defeat against sub-.500 Huntington Beach Marina last week. The Marina loss is sure to drop Huntington in the state rankings.

UC Davis-bound Frankie Mendoza has been the hottest hitter for No. 4 La Habra (22-1) all season. The Highlanders have won 19 consecutive games and are marching towards another Freeway League title. La Habra hasn't lost since an 8-0 defeat to OLu in the finals of the Brea Olinda/Yorba Linda Tournament on March 5.

No. 5 Los Alamitos got some good news last week with the return of ace Ryan Denhart, who had been out since early April with tenedinitis in her throwing arm. After losing Denhart and No. 2 Paige Austin to injury, sophomore Brianna Jewett had been handling the pitching duties. Denhart made a brief return to close out Los Al's 9-3 win over Marina and Jewett tossed a complete game to beat Edison, 2-1. Los Al and Huntington Beach meet one more time on May 10 and the Sunset League title will likely be on the line. Denhart will do everything possible to be in top shape for that one.

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Oklahoma-bound Vanessa Taukeiaho has hit four homers and driven in nine runs in the past three games for No. 6 Etiwanda (27-2). Taukeiaho has 15 home runs and 45 RBI on the year for the Eagles, who are in first place in the Baseline League.

No. 8 Pleasanton Amador Valley (15-2) boasts a six-game winning streak since Dwyer tossed a perfect game to beat the Dons in the quarterfinals of the Carew Classic on April 8. With Missouri-committed Danielle Williams in the circle, Amador Valley looks like the team to beat in CIF-North Coast Section Division 1.

With Oklahoma-bound pitcher Melanie Olmos and Oklahoma-committed third baseman Eliyah Flores, Grand Terrace is up to No. 9 in the most recent state rankings with its 17-game winning streak. Carew Classic tournament director Lance Eddy said he is adding Grand Terrace and La Habra to next year's Carew Classic.

No. 10 Westlake Village Oaks Christian (23-0-1), which features Seton Hall-bound pitcher Marie Sobel, remains unbeaten, but the Lions haven't faced the same kind of rugged schedule as Mission Viejo and La Habra, who look like the top two contenders in CIF-SS Division 2.

Michelle Castro went 8 for 9 with a double, two triples, three homers, seven runs and nine RBI to lead No. 11 Manteca East Union to wins over Modesto Central Catholic, 12-2, and Lathrop, 19-1, last week. The Lancers look like the favorites to repeat as the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section champions.

No. 12 San Diego Cathedral Catholic (21-3-1) has won 15 straight since a 3-0 loss to Garden Grove Pacifica attheBest of the West Tournament on March 19. The Dons have the best 1-2 punch in the circle in San Diego with UCLA-commi Megan Faraimo and Long Beach State-bound Devyn Magnett.

No. 13 Lakewood (18-4) is sure to tumble in the rankings after splitting a doubleheader with La Palma Kennedy and losing to Oxnard at the Thousand Oaks Tournament last week.

No. 14 Sacramento Sheldon (19-2) has a 14-game winning streak and remains undefeated in the Delta League. Delaware State-commit Taliyah Miles is 14-2 with a 2.14 ERA.

No. 15 Norco (19-5) has had some random losses throughout the season, but it has all but one player from last year's CIF-SS Division 1 championship team. The Cougars have the potential to turn it on and make another championship run.

No. 16 Cerritos Gahr (18-5-2) will probably dip in the rankings after a 3-2 loss and 9-9 tie in a nonleague doubleheader with North Torrance (20-6-1), which does have Arizona State-bound pitcher Alyssa Loza.

No. 17 Corona Santiago (16-4) took a tough 10-2 defeat to Grand Terrace in its own tournament on Saturday.

Oregon-committ Karlee Sparacino went 5 for 7 with two doubles, five runs and seven RBI to lead No. 18 Martinez Alhambra (14-2) to wins over Walnut Creek Las Lomas, 7-0, and Petaluma, 12-0.

No. 19 La Puente Bishop Amat (18-3) has split its two Del Rey League games with Santa Fe Springs St. Paul after a 3-2 loss to the Swordsmen last week, but the Lancers still have a two-game lead over St. Paul in the league standings.

Pleasanton Foothill (15-2) lost to first-place Amador Valley, 5-0, last week. The rematch against Amador Valley is May 19 and the East Bay League title will likely be on the line.