Under head coach
Galen
McSpadden
Seward
County
now has 66 players drafted in the past 13 years, with at least one player being selected in each of the past 13 MLB Drafts (1993-2005).
Sopic, a freshman right handed pitcher from
Arlington
,
Texas
, was selected in the 34th round by the Baltimore Orioles. Sopic was the Orioles 24th pitcher drafted in the two-day draft. The 6’6” 205 lbs. right handed freshman from Martin H.S. in
Arlington
has a fastball that will be consistent in the upper 80’s to low 90’s. He was used primarily out of the bullpen as a freshman at
Seward
County
and is currently a starting pitcher for the Dodge City Desperados this in the Walter Johnson League wooden bat summer league.
Cranston
, a sophomore left handed pitcher from
Colby
,
Kansas
, was selected in the 46th round by the San Francisco Giants, also on the second day of the draft. The 6’2” lefty was the Saints top pitcher for most of the year as he led the team and was fourth in the nation in strikeouts this season with 101.
Cranston
went 6-2 with a team high 2.68 earned run average (ERA) in 77.1 innings pitched.
Cranston
was named First Team Jayhawk West All-Conference and was named National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Pitcher of the Week on
April 5, 2005
.
Cranston
has already signed a national letter of intent to play at the
University
of
Nebraska
for next year.
Both players will begin contract negations with their respective organizations soon. It will be likely that Sopic will return to
Seward
County
for his sophomore season in 2005 and
Cranston
will likely end up pitching for the Cornhuskers next season in the BIG XII Conference.
