RIVERSIDE — Jason Jones is not a pitcher who is going to register big numbers on the radar gun. What Jones can do at times, however, is work efficiently and keep the amount of barreled balls to a minimum. The 6-foot-1 senior right-hander needed only 78 pitches and just under two hours to complete a five-hit gem, as the King baseball team defeated crosstown foe Arlington 5-0 in a nonleague game Wednesday afternoon. “He knows who he is, and he’s not going to try to do too much,” Wolves coach Justin Solis said about Jones. “JJ is not going to blow the ball by batters. He’s going throw his pitches, hit spots and work with good counts. He really knows how to set up pitches. We stress with him, and most of our pitchers, to hit bats not barrels.” Jones peppered the zone Wednesday, throwing 52 pitches for strikes. He faced a three-ball count only twice. His fastball topped out at 82 miles per hour, but it was off-speed pitches in the 70s that handcuffed the Lions. “I just attacked the zone today,” said Jones, who picked up his first win of the season. “A lot of off-speed stuff, and my change-up was really working. My defense played great, so I was looking to get some ground balls.” King (6-1) got to Arlington starter Carter Johnson for three runs in the second inning. A defensive miscue by the Lions allowed the first run to score, and King doubled that lead on an RBI groundout by Jayden Chavez. Cory Lacher capped the big inning for the Wolves with a two-out single to center to bring in Carlos Moreno. Arlington (3-5) had a chance to break through in the fourth inning, when Thomas Bell blooped a double into right field with two outs and moved to third on an error on the same play. Chavez made several impressive plays from the shortstop position, including a sliding stop and throw to first to snuff out that scoring threat. Johnson struck out five batters in four-plus innings of work but was lifted after walking the first two batters of the fifth inning. King took advantage of those free bases, as Eli Lipson and Jones singled home runs to push the Wolves’ lead to 5-0. Arlington pitchers walked five batters in the game, and three came around to score. Jones fanned only two batters in the game, but he did not allow any walks and did not a batter Wednesday. “Free bases is always a battle. How many can we limit, and how many can we take advantage?” Solis said. Arlington looked to put together a late rally in the seventh. Bell singled to lead off the frame, and Jacob Niebla singled with one out. Jones bore down and got Julian Juaregui to hit into a game-ending, 6-4-3 double play. “You have to give (Jones) credit for throwing strikes,” Arlington coach Tim Kleveno said. “… But one thing we didn’t do a very good job of today was giving him competitive at-bats. We gave too many of them away today and let him of the hook at times. We need to do better, but again, credit to him for making the pitches he did.” Lipson went 3 for 3 with two singles and a double to lead a seven-hit performance by the Wolves. NIebla reached base safely three times (two singles and a error), and Bell also went 2 for 3 for the visitors. Related Articles Murrieta Mesa softball team rallies in seventh to beat Temescal Canyon IE Varsity’s CIF State playoff schedule for Thursday, March 5 Centennial boys and girls basketball teams victorious in CIF State openers Destin Strauther leads Colony boys basketball team past Norte Vista in CIF State opener IE Varsity’s CIF State playoff scoreboard for Tuesday, March 3 ...read more read less