Prep baseball rankings: Del Campo’s Dawidczik gets win No. 100; freshmen breakout stars

Del Campo High School has been home to Kevin Dawidczik since 2015. His first Del Campo team went 10-15-1. His team hasn’t had a losing record since.

He helped the Cougars win a Sac-Joaquin Section title in 2018. Dawidczik is a Sacramento native who played at Johnson High and Sacramento City College.

“Humbled,” Dawidczik said on getting win No. 100. “(I) have had great players and better young men who buy into the program and play for each other. Also have been blessed with coaches who do it for the right reasons and have given so much time to help me get the best out of our guys. The program means so much to me and has become my home since being blessed with the opportunity.”

After starting this season 0-3, Del Campo has won seven of nine. That includes two wins over Vista del Lago, Oakmont, Davis, Vacaville, Del Oro and Cosumnes Oaks. In the four games his team played last week, Matt Moses went 11-for-15 with eight runs, four RBIs, five stolen bases. He also pitched a complete game shutout against Oakmont.

Dawidczik prides himself on putting together a tough non-league schedule. The Cougars face No. 15 Roseville and fourth-ranked Franklin this week.

Quick Hits

▪ Placer’s John Handy is playing like one of the top freshmen in the area. Handy has three walk-off hits this season, including one against No. 1 Granite Bay. It resulted in a 3-2 win and handed the Grizzlies their second loss of the season. Granite Bay beat Placer in the season opener 11-1.

▪ Bradshaw Christian enters the rankings for the first time this season at No. 23. The Pride are 11-4 and have been led by Trevor Baker, Tyler Onic, Aiden Ochoa, Micah Nicholson Joseph Anderson and Caiden Butler.

▪ McClatchy had the most impressive performance of the week in a win over previous third-ranked Ponderosa. The Lions mercy-ruled the Bruins 11-1. The game ended on a three-run inside-the-park home run by star catcher Malcolm Moore. Jordan Gallow drove in three. Ben Silva pitched a complete game, allowed only two hits and struck out seven. He also had a pair of RBIs.

▪ After not playing the previous series against Granite Bay due to COVID-19 issues, Oak Ridge came out strong and swept Del Oro. Andrew Uharriet, Christian Cochran and Michael May were all big at the plate.

▪ The rubber match between league rivals Davis and Pleasant Grove went down to the wire. With the Eagles down to their final out, down a run, Ben Pernetti blasted a home run to tie the game. Pleasant Grove walked it off in the 10th inning on a balk call. Tyson Pereira got the win in relief.

▪ The Roseville Tigers stayed hot with a sweep over Yuba City. The highlight of the series was freshman Austin Nye striking out 14 in six innings in the series finale. Aiden Chang drove in six during the series.

▪ Rocklin’s Chase Meggers leads the Sierra Foothill League in home runs and RBIs. He has been an important piece to the Thunders success this season. In the series finale, Meggers went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the win over Whitney. Toran O’Harran had a walk-off single in the first game.

▪ Franklin swept league rival Cosumnes Oaks behind good pitching and timely hitting. In the second game of the series, Lucas Gibbons hit a walk-off single to give Franklin a 2-1 win. Nolan Stevens pitched a complete game and struck out 10.

▪ Jesuit has won five of its last six. That includes a series win over Cosumnes Oaks and a sweep over Sheldon. In the series finale, Devon Walczykowski hit a walk-off single to score Andrew Sloan. Walczykowski pitched a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts the day before.

▪ Cordova has won six in a row, including a sweep over Johnson last week. Matt Jernigan went 10-for-11 with a home run and 10 RBIs during the series.

THE BEE’S TOP 25

1. Granite Bay (12-2)

2. Elk Grove (13-2)

3. Pleasant Grove (14-3)

4. Franklin (12-6)

5. Ponderosa (12-3)

6. Laguna Creek (11-1)

7. Woodcreek (11-4)

8. Placer (12-6)

9. Davis (11-5)

10. Jesuit (7-6)

11. McClatchy (9-1)

12. Cosumnes Oaks (9-7)

13. Oak Ridge (6-5)

14. Vanden (12-5)

15. Roseville (14-5)

16. Vista del Lago (7-6-1)

17. Folsom (7-7-1)

18. Del Campo (7-5)

19. Rio Americano (9-1)

20. Rocklin (9-7)

21. River City (11-3)

22. Lincoln (8-8)

23. Bradshaw Christian (11-4)

24. West Campus (11-3)

25. Colfax (12-6)

On the bubble: Alpha Charter (4-4), Bear River (6-2), Bella Vista (9-8), Christian Brothers (2-8), Cordova (8-9), Del Oro (5-12), Oakmont (5-10), Vacaville (8-9), Yuba City (6-12)

This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 7:38 AM.