Darlington Signs Four Position Players

AppleSox head coach Mitch Darlington announced on Thursday the addition of four position players to the 2024 roster. Luca Boscarino, Aidan Dougherty, Maloy Heaghney and William Zareh are signed to join this summer’s squad.

“These players are four that we feel are going to make a big impact for us,” Darlington said. “All four of them should be able to get here fairly early on in the summer and are going to stay for the majority of the summer.”

Boscarino is in his first season with the University Of The Incarnate Word after spending two years at Connors State College. He has appeared in 11 games and has recorded hits in four of them, including a breakout 2-for-4 game last Friday in which he hit his first home run of the season. In the two previous seasons Boscarino hit a combined .317 over 93 games for the Cowboys. Fourteen of his 19 home runs there came last spring.

The Mississaugua, Ontario native suited up for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Intercounty Baseball League in southern Ontario in the summer of 2022. Boscarino recorded five multi-hit games and rattled off an eight-game hitting streak from June 10-26. 

“The thing that stood out to me was his junior-college numbers,” Darlington said. “His home run numbers were ridiculous. From talking with his coaches at Incarnate Word they had nothing but great things to say about him. One of the hardest-working guys on their team and someone who would run through a brick wall for you.”

Dougherty is in the midst of wrapping up his sophomore year at Linn-Benton Community College before heading off to UConn this fall. He leads the Roadrunners with a .346 batting average, 33 runs and four triples through 33 games. Dougherty has recorded at least one hit in all but two games and even recorded a 21-game hitting streak from Feb. 24-Apr. 13. He batted .360 (31-for-86) over it and has rattled off a six-game hitting streak since it ended. 

The Snoqualmie native played for the Medford Rogues last summer after batting .327 in 41 games as a freshman at Linn-Benton to be named an All-NWAC 2nd Team outfielder. He also appeared in two non-league games with the Yakima Valley Pippins in 2022. Dougherty graduated from Mount Si High School in 2022.

“He’s had an interesting career path,” Darlington said. “Went to Oregon State out of high school and then left after the fall for Linn-Benton. He is their everyday leadoff guy and we were definitely interested when he reached out.”

Heaghney has not appeared in any games yet this season at Missouri State but is looking to become the second straight Bear to make a difference with the AppleSox after Izzy Lopez shined at shortstop a summer ago. 

Heaghney brings previous summer baseball experience to Wenatchee after suiting up in the Prospect League last summer. He led the O’Fallon Hoots in walks (32) and finished second in on-base percentage (.425) among teammates with at least 25 games played. Heaghney recorded eight multi-hit games, including a 3-for-3 night with 2 home runs and 4 RBI on July 5 vs. the Thrillville Thrillbillies. 

He graduated from Eureka High School in 2023 and helped lead the Wildcats to a 32-4 record as a senior, breaking the school record for victories for a second consecutive year after a 26-win, conference championship junior season. Heaghney was a three-time first-team all-conference selection and earned gold glove honors in each of his final three prep seasons. He was also ranked as the No. 5 shortstop in Missouri’s 2023 class.

“Maloy is a middle infielder/outfielder,” Darlington said. “The big thing that we liked is how good of an athlete he is. He runs really well and can play multiple positions. They’ve tinkered with him in the outfield but his primary position is shortstop. I think he’s going to be a kid that’s too good of an athlete to keep off the field.”

Zareh is another backstop joining the AppleSox this week to bolster the catcher position. He has appeared in seven games this spring at Missouri State as a freshman. He was the eighth-best catching prospect in Missouri in the class of 2023 according to Perfect Game and was a first-team all-conference selection as a junior and a senior. The Webster Groves, Mo. native batted .333 with 17 RBI, 28 hits and nine doubles in 30 games his senior year. Zareh was named Team MVP as a junior with a .419/.541/.698 slash line, 17 extra-base hits and 23 RBI. He was voted the team’s defensive player of the year his sophomore season and batted .326.

“William is a catcher who has a lot of tools,” Darlington said. “He’s registered 90 miles per hour from behind the dish, which is really impressive; a strong arm to have behind the dish. He’s a guy that Missouri State sees building their program around and plans for him in their future.”

The 2024 season begins on May 31 as the AppleSox host the Port Angeles Lefties at 6:35 p.m. at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. The AppleSox have 31 home games and play until mid-August. Single-game tickets are available for purchase now at applesox.com/schedule with admission as affordable as $8.