In the history of Newport Harbor High’s successful and storied athletics, its baseball program has never won a CIF Southern Section championship and hasn’t won a league title since 1948.
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The Sailors, however, appear to be cornering the market on CIF Southern California Regional banners.
In large, white script painted on a dark windscreen upon entering the ballpark at Newport Harbor is a tribute to the team’s 2022 CIF SoCal Regional Division III championship.
Now the Sailors will need to add another.
With standout pitching and timely hitting, Coach Josh Lee’s Tars defeated Bakersfield Christian, 5-1, for the 2026 CIF SoCal Regional Division II title as senior hurler Gavin Guy closed out the final three innings.
There were two water buckets poured over Lee as the Tars celebrated their championship, an invitation-only, second-chance tournament with an eight-team bracket. The Sailors played three regional games at home, beating two San Diego schools, Madison and Point Loma, to reach the title game against Bakersfield Christian (28-7-1) on June 6 before a packed house in Newport Beach.
“(The victory) definitely shows our hard work we put in all season. It is a defining moment for our whole team,” said Guy, who followed starter Ryan Williams (three innings) and Grant Horsley (one), as the Sailors finished the season 25-10.
The UC Berkeley-bound Williams, rebounding from a knee injury and used as a starting pitcher for the first time in more than a month, Horsley and Guy combined to yield only three hits for the CIF Central Section Division II champion Eagles.
Guy, a 6-foot-4 right-hander and UC Santa Barbara signee, struck out the side in the seventh inning, fanning five of the last six hitters he faced.
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Guy, whose fastball has reached 91 mph and sits in the high 80s, was pumped up to pitch as the raucous, standing-room only crowd electrified the ballpark’s atmosphere.
“I definitely came in with a lot of adrenaline with this packed house,” Guy said. “I was just trying to execute all my pitches and (pitch well) and it worked out. (Winning a regional title) means a ton; going out with a bang is super nice and cool. I’m super happy for the (players).”
Guy ended the year with a 9-1 record, one save and a microscopic 0.67 earned-run average. In four varsity campaigns, Guy was 19-5 with a 1.34 ERA.
A two-way player with a solid bat, Guy competes on the mound in a stretch-only operation with a belt-high leg kick, drop and drive mechanics and three-quarters arm slot on his delivery. With his lanky physique on the slab, it can be difficult for hitters to pick up his three effective pitches: heater, curveball and change-up.
Guy is a corner infielder and outfielder when he’s not pitching.
Two of Guy’s highlights this season included pitching a complete-game, four-hit shutout against Sunset League and CIF Southern California Regional Division I champion Huntington Beach and a complete-game effort with nine strikeouts against powerhouse Great Oak in the CIF playoffs.
“(Guy) goes down as one of the best to ever do it at Newport Harbor,” Lee said.
The Sailors placed second in the ultra-competitive Sunset League and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 semifinals, in which they were stunned in the last inning by eventual champion Ganesha, 2-1. Ganesha turned down an invitation to play in the CIF Southern California Regionals.
Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.
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