Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff
The New England Riptide selected UCLA pitcher Anjelica Selden in the first round (fourth overall), Creighton catcher TJ Eadus in the third round (14th pick), and University of Alabama utility player Jordan Praytor (21st pick) in the fourth round of the National Pro Fastptich (NPF) Draft yesterday.
All drafted players must wait until after the end of their college season to sign with NPF teams. Including the drafted players, the Riptide now have 16 players on the 2008 roster.
Selden, the ace pitcher for the sixth-ranked Bruins, is the all-time strikeout leader at UCLA and she was an honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection in 2007. Selden had a 17-11 record with 213 strikeouts in 171 innings last year. The native of Vacaville, Calif., was a NFCA All-American and Easton All-American in 2006.
Eadus, a native of Tucson, Ariz., started 49 games at catcher for Creighton. She set a single-season school record for home runs (16) and hit .291. She gunned down 14 of 33 would-be base stealers. Eadus was a Missouri Valley Conference first-team selection.
Eadus will give New England a second catcher to go along with KJ Kelley. The Riptide did not re-sign catcher Shelley Prochaska following last season.
Praytor led the Crimson Tide in walks, stolen bases, and hits while batting .367 last year. She was also named to the All-SEC First Team as well as a NFCA All-South Region First Team. Praytor is a native of Vancouver, Wa.
New England plans to begin camp in the middle of May, the Riptide start the regular season on the road against the NPF Champion Washington Glory on May 29.