Four from Kitsap named all-stars.

For six-plus innings it looked like Kitsap could take the East’s top dogs. How quickly things can change.

After the BlueJackets chased Wenatchee’s strong-armed starter Steve Ames from the game after five innings, things took a turn for the worst as Kitsap watched its 2-1 lead become a 4-2 deficit — and eventually a 5-4 loss.

Wenatchee, leading the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League’s East Division with an 18-7 record, scored three runs in the top of the seventh, sparked by four consecutive singles followed by a two-run double, and held off a pair of late-inning runs by the Jackets to take the 5-4 win, the second in as many days at Kitsap’s expense.

The loss dropped the BlueJackets to 14-15 overall, a half-game back of Bend (Ore.) for the No. 2 spot in the West Division.

James Douglas fell to 1-1 on the season after giving up four runs in 6-1/3 innings, walking no one but striking out just one.

Wenatchee struck first with a run in the first inning, but Kitsap struck back larger as catcher Max Kwan, who plays collegiately for the University of Washington, launched a two-run homer that also scored first baseman Bucky Aona (Southern Utah).

That 2-1 lead held all the way until Wenatchee’s seventh-inning run.

The teams traded solo runs through the eighth inning before AppleSox reliever Chad Smith picked up his second save, recording three straight outs after walking outfielder Doug Buser.

Tuesday, Wenatchee squeezed out a 1-0 win, holing the Jackets to just two hits, both by left fielder Brian Heere.

Garrett Dorn got the win for the AppleSox, pitching five no-hit innings before getting the hook.

Paul Dickey was strong for the BlueJackets, allowing just one run on three hits himself while striking out six in six innings of work, but a lack of offense dropped him to 1-5 on the season.

The teams wrapped up a three-game series Thursday, but results were unavailable at press time, as were the results of the BlueJackets’ series opener on the road against Corvallis (Ore.).

Following that series, which concludes tomorrow, the league will enter its all-star break until July 24, when Kitsap returns home for a one-game homestand against affiliate Olympia.

All-stars

Four Kitsap BlueJackets were named to the WCCBL West All-Star Team, all on the offensive side.

Kwan, Aona, Buser and infielder Brandon Decker will represent the BlueJackets at the All-Star Game, which takes place Tuesday, July 22 at Moses Lake’s Larson Field.

Kitsap will also have a representative in the Home Run Derby, but those players have not yet been named.

Buser leads the way with the eighth-highest batting average in the league, swinging a .324 clip. He leads the league with 27 runs and is second with 34 hits. He and Decker are tied for second with nine steals apiece.

Decker is fourth with 22 runs, hitting .263 for the season.

Kwan, whose hitting .323, is tied for second with three homers this season, having also hit eight doubles to go along with 13 RBI.

Aona has been the biggest power source for Kitsap however, pairing two homers and a league-high 28 RBI with a .312 average. He also leads the league with nine doubles and 35 hits.