Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
FRIDAY FEATURES: Veteran Presence
2/26/2021 12:21:00 PM | Baseball
Alex Fedje-Johnson has ridden the cyclical wave of college athletics, and it's carried him into the role of a redshirt senior team captain.
Now 23, the Minnesota native is the savvy, reliable veteran on Rucker Taylor's Davidson baseball team. And he's embracing the role.
"It's different being the oldest, but I feel like I've had a lot of guys in the past to look to and how they handled certain situations," said Fedje-Johnson, the last remaining active player from the 2017 Super Regional run. "I'm looking forward to helping lead this team to a good season."
As the Wildcats enter this weekend's home series with Toledo, he's hitting .308 and leading the team with two home runs, four RBIs and 10 total bases. And, along with his pal and fellow captain Ruben Fontes, Fedje-Johnson is calmly setting the tone for a talented team with potential.
Take your base
Fedje-Johnson has been a regular in Taylor's lineup for a while now, and the most dramatic and emphatic moment of the 2020 season started quietly with him reaching base and getting a bruise.
With Davidson trailing Duke by a run on March 10 in Charlotte, Fedje-Johnson led off the bottom of the ninth against talented Blue Devils closer Thomas Girard, whose slider came with letters of recommendation.
On an 0-1 count, the right-handed Girard delivered that slider that later helped him earn a pro deal.
"I thought, 'This ball is either going to hit me or it's the grossest pitch ever,'" said Fedje-Johnson, who took it on the upper left arm. "That's probably one of the happiest times to be hit."
Fedje-Johnson took his base, and two batters later, Brett Centracchio homered to right field, ending the game with a 7-6 Davidson win. While the flight of Centracchio's shot — and his bat flip — captured the eyes of most fans, Fedje-Johnson rounded the bases, touched home and jumped into the celebration.
Davidson was 13-3 and off to its best start in the modern era of a program that began in 1902.
Next moves
Though there were murmurs of COVID-19's possible impact on baseball and life from there, it wasn't clear until two days later that the season was actually over. Just like that — walk-off home run, walk-off stage left. Some careers ended as well, right there under the bright lights of the Queen City's picturesque Triple-A ballpark.
It was a shocking development across the board. In baseball and college terms, the timing was abrupt, literally a walk-off moment. It was second semester, senior year, and not exactly the ideal time for the team's nine seniors — Centracchio, Fedje-Johnson, Matt Frey, Charlie King, Jaret LaCagnina, Greg Lowe, Walker Imwalle, Alex Mardiney and Zach Nussbaum — to get caught in a pickle. They had already planned their next moves. For some, jobs awaited. For others, it was graduate school. The time to move on just came sooner than expected.
Three Wildcats landed on other college teams. Centracchio, ironically, put on the North Carolina uniform, after helping the Wildcats beat the Tar Heels in the 2017 Chapel Hill Regional. Another national power, Michigan, came calling for Frey. And Imwalle joined the Division II program at Spring Hill College in Alabama, which will make a trip to Davidson March 19-21.
Fedje-Johnson, who missed much of the 2018 season with an injury, was the only one able to stay at Davidson and take advantage of the extra year allowed by the NCAA.
Sticking around
The decision to stay at Davidson and play one more season was actually a pretty simple one for Fedje-Johnson, once the double-major (economics and political science) could figure out the logistics.
He'd seen significant improvement in his game from 2019 to 2020 and wanted to see what else he could do.
"I probably had my best game of the year the day before we were sent home," he said. "I felt I was realizing part of my potential. I couldn't go out with baseball that way."
Fedje-Johnson struggled at the plate in 2019, hitting .119 in 28 games, but he made his mark defensively as a brick wall at third base. In the offseason, he set his sights on becoming a better hitter.
"I definitely did some soul-searching," he said. "I did not have a good year at all. I sort of went back to the drawing board. I definitely made some mechanical adjustments and some mental adjustments."
In 2020, he continued his strong play at third. Against Lehigh, he threw to Imwalle for … six … inning-ending 5-3 putouts, preventing multiple runs. And his bat came alive. He hit a two-out, walk-off RBI-single to beat Georgetown and was third on the team with a .298 average.
"The level he played at third base last year was really, really impressive, and offensively, he had his best year," said Taylor.
Fedje-Johnson had a .492 on-base percentage — second on the team and the best among 2021 returners — and tied for the team lead with 12 walks.
"I was able to see the ball a lot better just with a change in approach, and I think I went out there and tried to have fun a lot more," he said.
Off to a hot start
Fedje-Johnson can remember the details of his first college home run.
It came against Georgetown in 2018. It was on his first at-bat of the season, in a pinch-hit situation. The ball was carrying that day, and on a 3-2 pitch, he lined a low pitch down the left field line. It just cleared the fence.
"Not a very impressive home run," he said with a laugh.
But it came on a day the Wildcats set the program's single-game record with seven round-trippers. It was also Fedje-Johnson's only college home run until this year.
In 2021, he's already got two in three games — one in the Feb. 20 season-opener against Morehead State and another at N.C. State the next day. He doesn't expect he'll challenge any home run records any time soon, but he's confident in his ability to contribute and lead in multiple ways on a daily basis.
So that's what he's doing: playing Davidson baseball, showing up each day, doing his job and being an example for the guys who will one day replace him, just like he's replaced those before him. And the Wildcats are certainly happy to have him back.
"It has been wonderful for our program on many levels," said Taylor. "Probably more importantly, I think he's really enjoyed this year and has grown into a great leader for us."
Now 23, the Minnesota native is the savvy, reliable veteran on Rucker Taylor's Davidson baseball team. And he's embracing the role.
"It's different being the oldest, but I feel like I've had a lot of guys in the past to look to and how they handled certain situations," said Fedje-Johnson, the last remaining active player from the 2017 Super Regional run. "I'm looking forward to helping lead this team to a good season."
As the Wildcats enter this weekend's home series with Toledo, he's hitting .308 and leading the team with two home runs, four RBIs and 10 total bases. And, along with his pal and fellow captain Ruben Fontes, Fedje-Johnson is calmly setting the tone for a talented team with potential.
Take your base
Fedje-Johnson has been a regular in Taylor's lineup for a while now, and the most dramatic and emphatic moment of the 2020 season started quietly with him reaching base and getting a bruise.
With Davidson trailing Duke by a run on March 10 in Charlotte, Fedje-Johnson led off the bottom of the ninth against talented Blue Devils closer Thomas Girard, whose slider came with letters of recommendation.
On an 0-1 count, the right-handed Girard delivered that slider that later helped him earn a pro deal.
"I thought, 'This ball is either going to hit me or it's the grossest pitch ever,'" said Fedje-Johnson, who took it on the upper left arm. "That's probably one of the happiest times to be hit."
Fedje-Johnson took his base, and two batters later, Brett Centracchio homered to right field, ending the game with a 7-6 Davidson win. While the flight of Centracchio's shot — and his bat flip — captured the eyes of most fans, Fedje-Johnson rounded the bases, touched home and jumped into the celebration.
Davidson was 13-3 and off to its best start in the modern era of a program that began in 1902.
Next moves
Though there were murmurs of COVID-19's possible impact on baseball and life from there, it wasn't clear until two days later that the season was actually over. Just like that — walk-off home run, walk-off stage left. Some careers ended as well, right there under the bright lights of the Queen City's picturesque Triple-A ballpark.
It was a shocking development across the board. In baseball and college terms, the timing was abrupt, literally a walk-off moment. It was second semester, senior year, and not exactly the ideal time for the team's nine seniors — Centracchio, Fedje-Johnson, Matt Frey, Charlie King, Jaret LaCagnina, Greg Lowe, Walker Imwalle, Alex Mardiney and Zach Nussbaum — to get caught in a pickle. They had already planned their next moves. For some, jobs awaited. For others, it was graduate school. The time to move on just came sooner than expected.
Three Wildcats landed on other college teams. Centracchio, ironically, put on the North Carolina uniform, after helping the Wildcats beat the Tar Heels in the 2017 Chapel Hill Regional. Another national power, Michigan, came calling for Frey. And Imwalle joined the Division II program at Spring Hill College in Alabama, which will make a trip to Davidson March 19-21.
Fedje-Johnson, who missed much of the 2018 season with an injury, was the only one able to stay at Davidson and take advantage of the extra year allowed by the NCAA.
Sticking around
The decision to stay at Davidson and play one more season was actually a pretty simple one for Fedje-Johnson, once the double-major (economics and political science) could figure out the logistics.
He'd seen significant improvement in his game from 2019 to 2020 and wanted to see what else he could do.
"I probably had my best game of the year the day before we were sent home," he said. "I felt I was realizing part of my potential. I couldn't go out with baseball that way."
Fedje-Johnson struggled at the plate in 2019, hitting .119 in 28 games, but he made his mark defensively as a brick wall at third base. In the offseason, he set his sights on becoming a better hitter.
"I definitely did some soul-searching," he said. "I did not have a good year at all. I sort of went back to the drawing board. I definitely made some mechanical adjustments and some mental adjustments."
In 2020, he continued his strong play at third. Against Lehigh, he threw to Imwalle for … six … inning-ending 5-3 putouts, preventing multiple runs. And his bat came alive. He hit a two-out, walk-off RBI-single to beat Georgetown and was third on the team with a .298 average.
"The level he played at third base last year was really, really impressive, and offensively, he had his best year," said Taylor.
Fedje-Johnson had a .492 on-base percentage — second on the team and the best among 2021 returners — and tied for the team lead with 12 walks.
"I was able to see the ball a lot better just with a change in approach, and I think I went out there and tried to have fun a lot more," he said.
Off to a hot start
Fedje-Johnson can remember the details of his first college home run.
It came against Georgetown in 2018. It was on his first at-bat of the season, in a pinch-hit situation. The ball was carrying that day, and on a 3-2 pitch, he lined a low pitch down the left field line. It just cleared the fence.
"Not a very impressive home run," he said with a laugh.
But it came on a day the Wildcats set the program's single-game record with seven round-trippers. It was also Fedje-Johnson's only college home run until this year.
In 2021, he's already got two in three games — one in the Feb. 20 season-opener against Morehead State and another at N.C. State the next day. He doesn't expect he'll challenge any home run records any time soon, but he's confident in his ability to contribute and lead in multiple ways on a daily basis.
So that's what he's doing: playing Davidson baseball, showing up each day, doing his job and being an example for the guys who will one day replace him, just like he's replaced those before him. And the Wildcats are certainly happy to have him back.
"It has been wonderful for our program on many levels," said Taylor. "Probably more importantly, I think he's really enjoyed this year and has grown into a great leader for us."
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