LA MIRADA — With La Mirada’s baseball team having wrapped up the Gateway League title and Arcadia having gone undefeated in the Pacific League, the two teams met Tuesday night to work on their preparation for the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

The teams are both likely headed for Division 1.

La Mirada, ranked No. 2 in the San Gabriel Valley, knocked off top-ranked Arcadia, 7-5, in a game that featured a lot of late-inning drama.

The victory could push La Mirada (20-6), which is No. 12 in the CIF-SS computer rankings, ahead of Arcadia (24-3) — which is No. 8 — in the final computer rankings before the playoff pairings are released Monday.

Whatever happens, the game between the top two teams in the SGV rankings lived up to the billing.

The Matadores took a 2-0 lead to the sixth inning, and at that point the game started making dramatic shifts.

The Apaches put together a two-out rally to score five runs and took a 5-2 lead.

La Mirada didn’t flinch, answering with five runs in the bottom of the sixth to go back in front, 7-5, and it held on for the victory.

La Mirada’s Justin Torres was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs. Ian Nunez had two hits, two RBIs and Kevin Jeon added two hits.

La Mirada pitcher Luke Armijo showed why he’s one of the area’s best pitchers. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but was unable to complete the inning.

“I didn’t really have my stuff 100 percent today,” Armijo said. “But it was one of those days where you gotta get it done on the mound. They came out swinging, they’re a good team, so I just threw strikes and got ahead and it worked out for me until I ran into some trouble.”

Armijo gave up two hits across 5 2/3 innings and surrendered three runs.

“We haven’t played in two weeks, so it was good to see him,” La Mirada coach Jimmy Zurn said of Armijo. “His pitch count was still really really good, maybe I could’ve let him finish. I just felt like it was the right time. He did what he’s been doing for us all year.”

The Matadores pounded 12 hits off Arcadia senior Gus Cooper, who gave up all seven runs over 5 2/3 innings to suffer his first loss of the season.

Arcadia managed only four hits. Matt Manzo singled home two of the Apaches’ five runs.

“They got to Cooper, which hasn’t really happened this year,” Arcadia coach Nick Lemas said. “We didn’t have a hit for a while there. They did a really good job. They were a very good team. It was nice to see us bounce back and put up some runs, get some key hits, and do some things.”

Zurn said his team’s comeback after blowing a lead was a product of the Matadores’ culture.

“We’re never out of the fight,” Zurn said. “As long as there are outs on the board, we have a chance. I’m hoping it pushes us forward into the playoffs.”

The Matadores won their 20th game for the ninth consecutive season, with the exception of the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

Both teams played their final regular-season game Wednesday; La Mirada had a nonleague contest against Tesoro while Arcadia took on Bonita.