Feb. 19, 2009

AKRON, Ohio - National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) held its 2009 Senior Draft in Akron at the Cambria Suites with the Rockford Thunder using its first pick in the fifth round on Alabama senior catcher Ashley Holcombe.

With the No. 21 pick the Thunder selected Alabama's Holcombe, a player highly regarded for her abilities behind the plate. She was a second team All-SEC selection in 2008, as well as a member of the SEC All-Defensive team, as she started and captained all 65 games for the Crimson Tide.

Defensively she had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in SEC games and a .988 overall percentage. She gunned down 7-of-20 would be base stealers and picked off eight others. During her junior campaign she hit a career-best .294 with 13 doubles, seven home runs and 25 RBIs.

"Holcombe is a player we've liked since we started preparing for this seasons draft," said Thunder General Manager Aaron Moore. "Having Megan Willis and Holcombe behind the plate gives a very good 1-2 punch of defensive-minded catchers that will help control the running game and captain the defense. A presence like hers is something we were missing in 2008 behind the plate.

Due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete is not eligible to sign with her respective franchise until her 2009 collegiate season is complete.

Each team had at least three selections in the five-round draft, with the Akron Racers holding eight of the 25 overall picks. The Pac-10 and SEC conferences led the way in this season's draft with six and four picks, respectively. Sacramento State, Oklahoma University, Stanford University, University of Florida, and University of Houston each had two players taken from the draft.

Major League Baseball is the Official Development Partner of National Pro Fastpitch in the category of women's professional fastpitch softball. The partnership, which began the fall of 2002, is part of The Commissioner's Initiative on Women and Baseball, a league-wide effort to help Major League Baseball and the 30 Major League Clubs build stronger relationships with female audiences.

National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL).

2009 NPF Senior Draft Results:

Round 1
1 (1) - Akron Racers - Kaitlin Cochran, Outfielder, Arizona State
2 (2) - Philadelphia Force - DJ Mathis, Pitcher, Oklahoma
3 (3) - Rockford Thunder - Laurie Wagner, Outfielder, Houston
4 (4) - Philadelphia Force - Brette Reagan, Infielder, Baylor
5 (5) - Chicago Bandits - Brandice Balschmiter, Pitcher, Massachusetts

Round 2
1 (6) - Rockford Thunder - Jenae Leles, Infielder, Arizona
2 (7) - Akron Racers - Brittany Weil, Pitcher, Iowa
3 (8) - Washington Glory - Kim Waleszonia, Outfielder, Florida
4 (9) - Philadelphia Force - Lillian Hammond, Outfielder, Tennessee
5 (10) - Chicago Bandits - Tammy Williams, Infielder, Northwestern

Round 3
1 (11) - Rockford Thunder - Ashley Charters, Infielder, Washington
2 (12) - Akron Racers - Samantha Ricketts, Infielder, Oklahoma
3 (13) - Washington Glory - Stacey Nelson, Pitcher, Florida
4 (14) - Chicago Bandits - Jamie Schloredt, Catcher, Sacramento State
5 (15) - Chicago Bandits - Jessica Valis, Infielder, Houston

Round 4
1 (16) - Philadelphia Force - Danielle Kinley, Outfielder, Penn State
2 (17) - Akron Racers - Melissa Pura, Infielder, Cal Poly
3 (18) - Akron Racers - Micaela Minner, Utility, Missouri
4 (19) - Akron Racers - Sari-Jane Jenkins, Outfielder, Oregon
5 (20) - Chicago Bandits - Amber Patton, Infielder, DePaul

Round 5
1 (21) - Rockford Thunder - Ashley Holcombe, Catcher, Alabama
2 (22) - Akron Racers - Missy Penna, Pitcher, Stanford
3 (23) - Washington Glory - Maddy Coon, Infielder, Stanford
4 (24) - Rockford Thunder - Breanna Brown, Outfielder, North Carolina
5 (25) - Chicago Bandits - Izmena Cabrera, Outfielder, Sacramento State

For more information on the Thunder contact the Thunder at (815) 965-7000 or visit www.thunderprofastpitch.com/.