Six Players From In-State Colleges Added To 2024 Roster

AppleSox head coach Mitch Darlington announced on Friday the addition of six players from Washington colleges to this summer’s roster. Carson Boesel, Micah Bujachich, Max Hartman, Matthew Henning, Tyson Rutherford and Karsten Sweum are all signed to suit up for the AppleSox in 2024. 

Carson Boesel is a local product who graduated from Okanogan High School last spring and is in his freshman year at Spokane Falls Community College. The Malott, Wash. native has appeared in four games for the Sasquatch and did not allow any runs over the first 5.1 innings that he appeared in. Boesel surrendered three runs in three innings in his third appearance before then allowing five in his fourth outing. 

“It’s always nice to have those local guys who are talented enough to come play for us in the summer,” Darlington said. “He’s thrown some really good innings this year in his freshman year at Spokane Falls. They always have good arms and are sendings us good guys, so it was a no-brainer for us to have that local kid that is definitely talented enough to be here.” 

Micah Bujachich will be a freshman at Washington this fall after completing his senior year at Steilacoom High School. He shined as a two-way player last year, batting .432 in 15 games last spring while also recording a 2.81 ERA in eight appearances to lead Steilacoom to the 2A State Tournament. He was ranked the No. 20 overall player and No. 4 right-handed pitcher in Washington by Perfect Game last year. 

“Really talented arm with an upper 80’s to low 90’s fastball and a good breaking pitch,” Darlington said. “It’s hard when you don’t know a lot about these incoming freshmen, but Washington is high on him and really excited about what he will do for them. We expect him to come in and play a significant role for us because of that.”

After appearing in the WCL with a fellow North Division rival in 2023, Max Hartman switches his allegiance to the AppleSox this summer. He hit .193 in 38 games with the Bellingham Bells prior to his sophomore year at Washington State. Hartman recorded a six-game hitting streak from July 4-12 and hit .318 in that time. 

The St. Albert, Alberta native got off to a strong start to his second season with the Cougs, recording a hit in each of his first 10 games. Hartman recorded back-to-back three-hit games with 5 RBI in a doubleheader against Rhode Island Mar. 2 and has 10 multi-hit games so far. His .347 average is third-best on the Cougs and has batted leadoff in each of their last 17 games. 

“Good speed at the top of the order and brings a little bit of juice as well,” Darlington said. “If you know our park, there’s a bit of a jet stream out to right field so having a left-handed bat that’s going to get a ton of at-bats for you in the summer is a good thing.”

Matthew Henning is another incoming freshman at Washington committed to play for the AppleSox before heading off to college. The two-time Perfect Game West Region All-American honoree is in his senior year at West Seattle High School and was ranked the No. 6 overall player and No. 2 outfielder in Washington in Perfect Game’s rankings last November. BVM Sports ranked Henning the eighth-best prospect in the class of 2024 in Washington after he hit .298 with eight extra-base hits and 18 RBI as a junior last spring to help lead West Seattle to the semifinals of the 3A State Tournament. 

“It sounds like Washington is going to bring him in as a true two-way guy,” Darlington said, “so that will be the plan for us, to see what he can do on the bump as well as in the outfield. I expect some big things from Matthew. He’s arriving in early July and will be a second-half guy for us. I think our fans are going to really like Matthew Henning.”

Tyson Rutherford is in his second year of college baseball and is at his second school. He began at Yakima Valley College last year before transferring to Spokane this season. Rutherford posted a 3.79 ERA while striking out 70 and walking 30 over 73.2 innings in 13 games (all starts) last season. He has only made one appearance this spring with the Sasquatch, allowing three runs, striking out eight and only walking one in 4.2 innings. 

“A guy that has a mid-to-upper 80’s fastball,” Darlington said, “and a really nasty breaking ball that gets a lot of swings and misses. Tyson will have a chance to get into our rotation, especially early on since the NWAC guys are able to show up on the first day. May see him get a start or two early on and I think he’ll get a ton of innings for us.”

Glacier Park High School southpaw Karsten Sweum is in his senior year before heading to Gonzaga this fall. He recorded a 1.47 ERA while opponents hit .082 against him over 19 innings to earn First Team All-WESCO 4A and First Team All-Area Snohomish County. Sweum hit .479 with a .545 on-base percentage, 1.191 on-base plus slugging and 17 RBI. He also earned a 2022-23 Northwest Scout Games selection and a 2023 Area Code selection from the Kansas City Royals.

“He’s a kid that’s polished beyond his years,” Darlington said. “We expect a big role from him this summer. We expect him to either step into a rotation role or a lefty who is going to get us out of a tough situation out of the bullpen.”

The 2024 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. The franchise’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. Season ticket packages are available for purchase now at applesox.com/season-tickets.

To hear more from Darlington about this week’s roster additions, listen to the latest edition of the Wenatchee AppleSox Podcast below.