Mitch Darlington has achieved an unprecedented amount of success in his first two seasons as the sixth head coach in AppleSox history.

Under Darlington’s leadership, the AppleSox broke single-season team records for walks, runs, stolen bases and RBI in 2022 and then proceeded to break team records for home victories (21), home game winning streak in league play (12), three-game series sweeps (eight), most home runs hit in a league game (four on July 13) and walks drawn (299) in 2023. Darlington’s first AppleSox team won the North Division Second Half title and swept the Kamloops NorthPaws in the North Division Semifinals to deliver the team’s first postseason series victory since 2013. The 2023 AppleSox won 10 more games than the 2022 version and tied the franchise’s second-best regular-season record with 37 league victories.

Five different AppleSox players have won West Coast League Player Of The Week in Darlington’s two seasons and 2022 second baseman Joichiro Oyama won a share of the WCL MVP after breaking four different AppleSox single-season records.

Darlington coached elite high school players and helped prepare them for collegiate careers at the Baseball Northwest Championships from 2018-21. He also served as an assistant coach at Big Bend Community College from 2017-19. Darlington’s first summer collegiate coaching experience came in 2019 as the head coach of the Burlington Barn Owls of the Cascade Collegiate League.

Darlington graduated from Cashmere High School in 2012 and went on to play baseball at Big Bend Community College before transferring to Central Washington. He works as the athletic director and physical education teacher at Mansfield High School and resides in Chelan with his wife, Marina, and their sons, Dash and Drue.

Mike Callia just completed his first season as the AppleSox’ pitching coach after being hired on Oct. 24, 2022. He guided the AppleSox pitching staff to a 3.35 ERA, their lowest mark since 2012.

He helped coach Lower Columbia College to their 15th NWAC Championship in the spring of 2023 in his first year as the Director of Player Development and Assistant Pitching Coach. Three of his Red Devils (Easton Amundson, Joey Pearson and Jadon Williamson) joined the AppleSox immediately after capturing the NWAC crown and left their marks on the 2023 AppleSox.

Callia got his first taste of coaching at the summer collegiate level when he helped lead the Western Nebraska Pioneers to the inaugural Independence League Championship in 2022 as their pitching coach.

Callia spent three seasons at Lower Columbia College from 2019-21 and was a part of their NWAC Championship team as a freshman. He transferred to West Texas A&M in 2022, but did not pitch due to injury.

Summer collegiate baseball is all over Callia’s resume. He spent three seasons playing in the Expedition League, two with the Pioneers and one with the Badlands Big Sticks. Callia previously played in the WCL with the Victoria HarbourCats in 2019, including pitching against the AppleSox in Game 1 of the North Division Series.

Xander Orejudos is entering his first season as an assistant coach for the AppleSox. Orejudos graduated from the University of Jamestown last spring and is in his first year as a student assistant coach with the Jimmies. He also served as first base in the fall as Jamestown got off to an 8-0 start.

His unique college journey should serve next summer’s AppleSox players well as they look to continue to climb levels of baseball. Orejudos began his college career at Columba Basin College in 2018 and his .356 in 46 games that year before following it up with a .358 mark in 28 games the next season. He transferred to Georgia Gwinnett but did not play in the 2020 or 2021 seasons due to injury. Orejudos then made his way to Jamestown and finished strong, first hitting .276 in 44 games a junior and then wrapping up his college career with a .325 mark in 46 games last spring.

Orejudos played with the AppleSox from start to finish in 2022 and became a regular with his defensive work at second base and his reliable bat. He hit .317 in 37 regular-season games and also a personal-best eight-game hitting streak from July 28-Aug. 5. Orejudos followed it up with a strong postseason, collecting hits in all three games, including recording a pair of multi-hit games in a Division Series sweep of Kamloops to open the playoffs.