Del Campo baseball coach savors fatherhood, family and a first-round playoff win
Kevin Dawidczik was in his element for years coaching baseball at Del Campo High School, a competitive and mentoring task that consumed him day and night.
He still has that zone, but the focus is divided now, heavier on family for the 10th-year Cougars coach.
On Wednesday, well before a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoff home opener against Center, Dawidczik was in Dad mode. He and wife Samantha took their four-week-old son, Matthew, for a routine doctor’s checkup with fine reviews for a lad born three weeks early at nearly 7 pounds. The coach then mowed the Del Campo baseball infield and prepped the diamond on the Fair Oaks campus.
Hours later, after a satisfying 2-1 victory over Center, he was Dad again, watching 11-month old son KJ race around the bases because that’s what the older kids do for fun.
“A blast!” the coach said of the win and especially of watching KJ run the bases. “Matthew’s been our lucky charm. He was born during a series against Yuba City, and I missed one game before my wife said, ‘Get back out there!’”
The coach returned, and here are the fifth-seeded Cougars returning to another section quarterfinal, this time to play the No. 4 Sutter Huskies on Friday.
Angel Reyna, a three-sport athlete and the gritty quarterback for a section playoff team, scored what turned out to be the winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a bases-loaded fielders choice.
Brody Bieneman had an RBI in the third inning for Del Campo, and he tossed two perfect innings with two strikeouts. Logan Smith struck out four with just one walk, as the Cougars improved to 16-12-1.
“Found a way!” Dawidczik said. “Angel came off the bench (as a pinch hitter). Great teammate who did his job. We won the game because of it.”
Dawidczik as head coach led what was already a storied program to more glory in 2018 and 2022, winning section championships. The school has won five section banners since 1985, the other coaches to do so being Harry Kawahata and Paul Martinez.
Dawidczik recalled losing a playoff opener in 2017, and how it left him irked. But Samantha insisted they go to a pre-planned concert, and the coach said Wednesday, “I’m glad she dragged me out there.”
In 2018, Samantha’s family was on hand to see Dawidczik engineer Del Campo’s section-title finale. No grumps that day. All grins. Dawidczik was coached in baseball growing up by his father, Jim, and he attends games with a grandson or two in tow.
“This is a great time right now,” Dawidczik said of life in general. “I tell people that I’m living the dream. I have my dream job. I’m mowing the infield. We have KJ, we have a baby, so it’s a great time, a busy time. There’s so much life balance now. My wife is an unsung here on this. You have to have that support and backing. I still enjoy the wins, but the losses don’t sting as much when you know you have a 2-year old ready to run up to you, and now Matthew, the baby.”
‘I really do like this team’
Dawidczik was pleased that his team got past a gritty Center team, coached by Jeff Wise, because he can relate to first-round elimination heartache.
As a member of the first West Campus baseball team of the Sacramento City Unified School District in 2004, Dawidczik and company suffered a 3-1 loss to Center, of all teams.
Junior Ramiro Pereda leads Del Campo with a .418 batting average. Freshman Landen Hill, who can play any number of positions, is batting .355. Alex Young leads the team with 18 runs scored, and Mitchell Clements has a 1.63 ERA this season and a three-year varsity career ERA of 1.74.
“I really do like this team,” Dawidczik said. “I’ve never had a team that has gone through as much adversity and life stuff, and I was navigating a new baby, and our coaching staff’s been great. It’s a special place here.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 8:06 PM.