‘We’ve been through the wringer’

UC Davis baseball struggles forward from hazing scandal

By Joe Davidson

May 01, 2022 5:00 AM

J.D. Mico and Jonah Hendrickson represent the right side of the infield for the UC Davis baseball team, and also a good part of the program’s heart and soul this season.

They will cap their playing careers here before too long, weary from the experiences but grateful for their time in Division I baseball. Mico is the Aggies’ dart-quick leadoff hitter and second baseman, a senior holdover from the 2021 Aggies season from hell that included an 8-32 Big West Conference showing. Then things got decidedly worse in the offseason.

The baseball team was suspended in July because of allegations of misconduct tied to the hazing of players by players. The allegations, proven after a lengthy investigation, including players binge drinking to the point of vomiting, or taking shots of a surprise drink while blindfolded — such as tobacco sauce, dirt or even urine. The trouble started between home games of a doubleheader late last season. The father of a UCD player stormed down to the Dobbins Field dugout, demanding answers from coaches while slamming down his son’s journal, which detailed examples of hazing and player initiation rituals.

Neither Mico nor Hendrickson were part of any sort of hazing, they said, and the majority of the incidents happened before any of the current players were on the roster. But a stain like that hovers. This season has gone without incident, a must under new coaches and a host of new players.

“It’s nice to be out here,” said Mico, a McClatchy High School graduate who played for his father Don Mico at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. “A lot has happened. We’ve been through the wringer.”

The wringer nearly led to a spiked season, a vacant 2022 for a program that began play in 1938. But the Aggies are playing. UCD’s roster has 10 fewer players than most opponents on its schedule. It is playing as many as 12 fewer games than others on the Division I ranks, in part because a lot of teams set their schedules during the fall, while UCD was mired in an investigation, unsure of if there would be enough players left to field a team. Thin on pitching and varsity experience, UCD started this season 0-15. They stand at 4-23 overall entering the Aggies’ next contest, Tuesday at No. 6 Stanford.

“We’re competitive, and that’s testament to those kids,” said UCD official scorekeeper John Patella, a member of the program for more than 60 years as a player, a father of a player, a fan, a booster and a reliable hand in the press box.

LOVE OF THE GAME

Hendrickson can write a thesis on competing and enduring. He is the Aggies’ 6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore first baseman who grew up in town and played at Davis High School. He spoke of the “blessings of baseball,” of being able to play a kid’s game after a day studying wildlife, fish and conservation biology. This is how much the sport means to Hendrickson: He has suffered four concussions over the years in this sport, the first two when he was hit by a pitch. The third was when he took a knee to the head on an outfield play, and the last one, just over a year ago, was the goofiest of them all.

“Teammates tapping me on the head, with a helmet, after a play,” Hendrickson said with a laugh. “Got a concussion from that. I keep playing because I love this sport too much to stop.” The ice pack taped to Mico’s shoulder following a recent home game reflected a bit on his soreness — he plays frenetically, or faster — but especially the profound hurt on the program. Hazing doesn’t just get players drunk or humiliate young men who are supposed to be brothers.

Hazing and its aftermath guts a program from the core out. It’s a reputation-crusher for a school that prides itself on image. The scandal cost longtime coach Matt Vaughn his job, as the investigation concluded he, “failed to take appropriate steps to address a concern brought to his attention about possible hazing involving the baseball team.”

When news of the hazing became public and with coaches placed on leave, UCD athletic director Rocko DeLuca sent an email to incoming freshman prospects, alerting them of the status of the program and that they could transfer out before even stepping foot in Yolo County, and the school would help them in those efforts. Many players left. Some decided not to play any more. Others, like Mico and Hendrickson, returned because it was the thing to do.

“Had to come back,” Mico said. “I knew I had a lot left on the table, a lot left to give.”

BLOOMFIELD FALL IMPACT, NEW COACH ARRIVES

Tony Bloomfield was the unsung glue to the program, even though he isn’t listed on any rosters or programs. The longtime Davis resident has a sparkling baseball reputation as a Hall of Fame community college coach, including a championship run at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. He took on the task of running some 60 fall practice sessions to keep the Aggies program afloat. He made sure the Aggies maintained a pulse. He did so free of charge, a baseball lifer who soon was rooting for the program to climb off the deck.

“You always want to help kids, any age,” Bloomfield said while watching a recent game. “I’m happy for these guys to have a season.”

The Stanford game Tuesday will mark a homecoming for UCD’s first-year coach Tommy Nicholson. He was a member of the Cardinal coaching staff the previous five seasons. Nicholson starred as a player at the University of Texas, graduating in 2006, and he reached Triple-A in the professional ranks before getting into college coaching. He is friendly and chatty, cheerful by nature, but losses wear on any man.

Nicholson had an assistant coaching stop at Sacramento State, and with his years at Stanford, he knew of UCD baseball. Nicholson said he read about the UCD hazing investigation but he wasn’t initially looking to leave a sure thing at Stanford, one of the nation’s elite programs. Most college head-coaching jobs come open in the spring and summer, not the fall months. Nicholson was hired by UCD in December, just the fourth coach for the Aggies since 1966.

“I was fixed into Stanford, not looking to leave,” Nicholson said. “I wasn’t looking to be a head coach. The program here was in limbo. I got here in January and told the team in the first Zoom meeting that I’m here because I want to be here.”

Nicholson also told his team that no playing roles were secure, that there will be changes before the first game, maybe during the season, and certainly this coming offseason. UCD has 15 commitments from high school and junior college players, his guys ready to help rebuild the program. UCD has fielded just one winning season in the last 14 years, but all the makings are in place to make a surge down the line, he says.

“The first couple of weeks here, I was still getting to know everyone’s names,” Nicholson said. “It was hard for our guys to lose so many games, especially that losing streak to start the season. We kept fighting. We kept getting a little better. I can’t speak enough on how these guys have hung in there. We tell them to not get discouraged. Don’t give up. That’s the biggest thing. We talk about what defines success. If we play hard, with no errors, with some runs, we didn’t fail. We just didn’t win. We’re on the right track.”

LAST WIN A THRILLER, AND CONNECTING THE GENERATIONS

The last UCD victory was a memorable one, the highlight of the season. Star shortstop Nick Leehey had a walk-off single to beat Hawaii 3-2 on April 24, on Davis’ annual Picnic Day. It was Mico the gritty infielder, who scored the game-winner, igniting a mass player sprint onto the field.

At long last, a home celebration. The Aggies were 1-11 at Dobbins Field coming in. Members of the 1972 UCD conference championship team that set a program record for most wins in a season with 32 were in attendance, along with their coach Phil Swimley. He is so beloved here that the field bears his name. He won 902 games at UCD during his Hall of Fame career that stretched from 1966-2002. The ‘72 Aggies were on the field before the first pitch for a reunion moment.

Nicholson has spoken several times this season with Swimley. The coaches are connectors to the generation gap. Without Swimley’s backing, progress would be all the more stalled.

“Swimley’s been great, very supportive, and I appreciate that,” Nicholson said. The coach added, “This is a good job, a great school, a great town. We can do things here. Aside from the record, internally, we’re optimistic. We’re getting calls from player commitments, penciling in our depth chart, and we’re excited. The guys we have now, they’re the building block to what this will turn into.”

There’s Mico and Hendrickson leading the charge, ice packs, sore heads and all.

https://www.sacbee.com/sports/college/article260926717.html