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Newport Harbor baseball knocks off Aliso Niguel with Gavin Guy’s strong outing

March 11, 2025

ALISO VIEJO – There are regular guys, and then there is Gavin Guy. The lanky right-handed pitcher came into the baseball season with his coach at Newport Harbor expecting him to be the team’s No. 2 pitcher.

After Monday’s performance against Aliso Niguel, Guy may have caused a rethink.

Behind the performance of Guy and on the strength of just two runs, Newport Harbor defeated Aliso Niguel, 2-1.

The Sailors (4-1) are ranked No. 23 in the Register’s Orange County Top 25 while Aliso (7-3) came into the game ranked No. 12.

“My catcher, Lucas Perez, was going to be my No. 1, but now I’m thinking that Gavin might be the guy,” Sailors coach Josh Lee said after watching Guy pitch six innings and give up one run on six hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.

Guy’s moment of truth came in the bottom of the sixth inning. Already 73 pitches into a pitch count set at 85, an infield hit, a bunt single and a one-out intentional walk loaded the bases. With everything on the line, Guy struck out Jason Orwat on three pitches. Then Hudson Covington hit a sharp grounder that Guy snagged and completed the play at first base for the final out of the inning.

“That was huge, a big moment with the bases loaded,” said Guy, a 6-foot-5 junior who has committed to UC Santa Barbara. “It was a little nerve-wracking. Took a deep breath because I knew I was going to have to do something … Get weak contact up the middle for maybe a double play or get a strikeout, which is what I was trying to do. I was trying to strike out (Covington), too, but he had a good swing up the middle. Good reflexes.”

Guy improved to 2-1 and lowered his earned run average to 0.41 across 17 innings.

Lee – himself an alumnus of Aliso Niguel – said Covington was going to be the last batter faced by Guy no matter what. By rising to the occasion, Guy turned the ball over to Ryan Williams, who faced his own reckoning in the seventh. Like Guy, he also delivered when it mattered against the heart of the order

A walk to leadoff batter Alex Hamada and a single to right field by Cooper Flemming – his third hit – gave the Wolverines the opportunity they needed to win the game. But No. 3 hitter Jarett Sabol hit a fly to center field on the first pitch, cleanup batter Austin Hays struck the ball well to left but it was caught, and Carson Etnire’s grounder to short was thrown to third base for the game-ending force play.

“We had bases loaded and one out, guys on first and second and nobody out – you’ve got to be able to find ways to bring guys across,” Aliso Niguel coach Craig Hanson said. “We’ve been swinging the bat pretty well. … We just made some uncharacteristic mistakes that ended up costing us. Had a feeling with the guy they had on the mound it would be a close game – and it was.”

Aliso’s run came in the fourth. Brandon Schaaf boarded on an infield single, stole second, took third on a grounder, and scored on Flemming’s single to left.

Aliso Niguel doesn’t begin South Coast League play for a couple of weeks, but Newport Harbor begins the Sunset League gauntlet next week with three games against Corona del Mar in what might be the toughest public school league in Southern California.

This was a quality win to build off of, for sure.

Lucas Perez scored both runs for the Sailors, in the second and fourth innings, against losing pitcher Carson Etnire, who gave up one unearned run on four hits, two hit batters, and two strikeouts in five innings.

In the second inning, Perez was hit with one out, took second base on a passed ball, and scored on Wyatt Gahm’s single to right field.

In the fourth inning, Perez singled to left and took third on Gahm’s second opposite field single. He scored when the first baseman was pulled off the bag on what could have been Jackson’s Stremick’s inning-ending double play grounder to third base.

That Perez and Gahm played such a pivotal role in the offense didn’t surprise their coach.

“Gahm did that last game against Dana Hills, had a two-out, two-RBI hit to give us the lead and give us the win,” Lee said. “And Lucas Perez had a walk-off hit on opening day. Gahm’s a three-year varsity player and Perez has been a starter since he was a freshman on the state championship team. Both those guys have been in big moments.”

And with a pitcher who can make two runs stand up against a team as talented as Aliso – a pitcher who can throw strikes at 88-91 mph – there might be plenty of big moments this season.

Orange County Register

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Newport Harbor baseball knocks off Aliso Niguel with Gavin Guy’s strong outing

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