GAME RECAP: Sea Kings Avoid Sweep vs the Sailors, as Jones goes 6 2/3s

By Colin Costigan

NEWPORT BEACH, CA- Third time was the charm for the Corona del Mar Sea Kings, as they dominated the Newport Harbor Sailors, 8-1, at Sea Kings Field Friday afternoon to avoid the sweep and collect their first win in Sunset League play. 

For the series known as the “Battle of the Bay,” it had been primarily a one-sided affair in recent meetings. Coming into this one, the Sailors had won six consecutive games dating back to the end of the 2024 season, with the majority of those matchups being within reach for the Sea Kings. 

Despite lining 29 hits during that stretch, the Sea Kings were outscored 20-6. Adding insult to injury, they also failed to score a run against them in last season’s three-game set, even though they allowed just seven total runs in that series.

Searching for that big hit became a major focal point for Sea Kings Head Coach Kevin McCaffrey. Back on their home turf, the Sea Kings reigned supreme and finally turned the tide against the Sailors, scoring their most runs in a game against them in nearly two years. 

“Everyone has such good pitching in this league and we had opportunities in the first two games and we couldn’t come up with a big hit with guys on,” said McCaffrey. “(But) that happened today. We put the ball in play, we made a few blunders and we got a few big hits.”

Even though both squads had their “blunders” with three errors apiece, it was the Sea Kings who ultimately took advantage of their opportunities by collecting three hits with runners in scoring position by just the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Having already knocked in a two-out RBI in their first trip to the plate, it was a chaotic third inning that set the stage. 

The Sailors answered briefly in the top half of the inning on an interference call following an errant throw down to third on a double-steal attempt. In another wild turn of events, a catcher’s interference call kept the inning alive moments later for the Sailors, yet they couldn’t cash in. 

Meanwhile, the Sea Kings ignited a two out rally to bring home four runs in the bottom half. Poor defense fueled this rally, with two crucial errors beginning and ending the scoring run. Meshed in the middle of this chaos, another Sea King reached on a dropped third strike to help set up a clutch two-run single from third baseman Brady Zenz. 

With the pitching already spiraling out of control, the Sailors plunked three batters in the fourth inning and made another crucial error to bring in another run. Like a broken record, the Sea Kings capped off their scoring with yet another two out, two-run single, this time from left fielder Will Chavez. 

Despite the theatrics, the man on the mound was the true difference maker. Senior Stevie Jones nearly went the distance before being pulled after reaching the league maximum 110 pitches. 

In 6.2 innings pitched, he allowed six hits and one earned run while walking two and fanning five batters. The only blemish to his outing was out of his control, due to a rare interference call on the basepaths and from his battery mate shortly after.

Resiliency remained a constant theme for Jones in this one, as he dealt with traffic on the basepaths in every inning. Known for his lively fastball and devastating changeup with “split-like” movement, he struggled to put hitters away. 

Yet when it mattered most, Jones came through, holding the Sailor hitless with runners in scoring position, as they finished 0-for-6 in that category.

“When Stevie Jones is on the mound we have a pretty good chance,” said McCaffrey. “He’s been doing it for four years, just can’t say enough about what he means to our program and just the person he is and obviously the competitor on the mound.”

The spotlight has never fazed Jones, as he adds on to his historic season. Already holding the program record for strikeouts by the second week of this season, Jones also earned the California Pitcher Of The Week award last week. In his six innings of work against Capo Valley Christian, he punched out 12 batters and earned a program record 22 wins and counting. 

Even with the accolades, the humble hero continues to demonstrate his team-first mentality. 

“I just know that the team’s always got my back,” said Jones. “They’ve picked me up on some of my bad days, (and) helped me on some of my good days.”

Looking ahead, the conference slate heats up for the Sea Kings as they take on the Fountain Valley Barons in a three game series starting Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. 

“We’ve proved that we can play with anyone and we’re just going to keep competing all year,” said McCaffrey. “We know we’re the underdog and we wanna go bite some people.”