Three Red Devils Arms Join 2024 Roster

AppleSox head coach Mitch Darlington announced on Thursday the addition of three pitchers to the team’s 2024 roster. Michael Schwarz, Stephen Hammergren and Josh Mejia will all join this summer’s AppleSox squad. All three have pitched or currently pitch for Lower Columbia College under AppleSox and Red Devils pitching coach Mike Callia.

Michael Schwarz was signed to pitch for the AppleSox last summer before being shut down after the NWAC Championship. In two seasons with the Red Devils he recorded a combined 2.26 ERA with 149 strikeouts and 51 walks over 159 innings in 28 games (27 starts) while also earning Second Team All-NWAC West Region in 2023. Schwarz helped Lower Columbia win the first game of its eventual NWAC Championship run last season by holding Edmonds to one run on four hits, no walks and nine strikeouts in seven innings. The southpaw is in his junior year at Texas A&M Corpus Christi where he is teammates with 2023 AppleSox infielder Mason Persons. 

“He was a guy when we had him (at Lower Columbia) who was dominating teams by moving around the fastball and mixing in the secondary (pitches) ,” Callia said. “There are not many guys who are two-year aces in the NWAC. Mike Schwarz was at Lower Columbia. That speaks highly to the competitor that he is and his willingness to take the ball every weekend and rack up innings that he had said a lot about his pure grit and determination to go compete.”

Josh Mejia is in his freshman year at Lower Columbia and has a 2.63 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 11 walks over 13.2 innings in eight games out of the bullpen. He has not allowed a run in five of his outings and his best appearance was three-inning scoreless effort on Feb. 23 vs. Lane. The southpaw went 5-1 with a 3.26 ERA, 74 strikeouts and 32 walks over 11 games as a senior at Rogers High School in 2023. 

“Probably one of our hardest workers with the Red Devils this year,” Callia said. “He’s been an electric arm out of the bullpen. He brings a lot with his slider and fastball velocity. We’re excited to see how he competes against Division-I arms coming from a funky arm slot.”

Stephen Hammergren didn’t have to go far from home for college after graduating from Mark Morris High School. He hit .434 with nine extra-base hits and 28 RBI as a senior in 2023 while also only allowing one run in 23.2 innings over six games on the mound. Hammergren punched out 43 hitters while only walking 14 and allowing 11 hits. He has a 4.32 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 11 walks over 16.2 innings in six games with Lower Columbia.

“I can’t tell you how excited he is to join the AppleSox,” Callia said. “He tells me every day that he’s excited to spend the summer with me. He’s an electric arm out of our bullpen right now. He had a fantastic ”

The 2024 WCL season begins on May 31 as the AppleSox host the Port Angeles Lefties at 6:25 p.m. at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. The AppleSox have 31 home games and play until mid-August. Single-game tickets for the 2024 season go on sale April 15. Season ticket packages are available for purchase now at applesox.com/season-tickets. Wenatchee’s five West Coast League championships are second-most in league history and head coach Mitch Darlington’s club set single-season franchise records for walks drawn, home record, home winning streak, sweeps and home runs hit in a single game in 2023. 

Listen to the latest edition of the AppleSox Podcast below to hear about the newest additions to the roster from pitching coach Mike Callia. Subscribe to the AppleSox Podcast today on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.