Pair Of Bulldogs Selected In Baseball Draft
6/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 8, 2004
SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University had two players selected on the second day of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft as senior left-hander Ed Clelland and junior outfielder Jeff Culpepper were each drafted during the middle rounds. Clelland was drafted in the 20th round by the Detroit Tigers and should report to the teams New York-Penn Short Season team in Onenota, New York in late June. Clelland joins former Gonzaga second baseman Eric Rodland in the Tigers organization after Rodland was drafted in the 9th round of the 2003 draft. Culpepper was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 24th round to mark the second consecutive season the left-handed hitting outfielder was drafted. The Boston Red Sox drafted Culpepper in the 39th round last year with Culpepper deciding to return to school for his junior season.
Clelland finished his senior year with a 5-6 record and 5.71 ERA in 14 starts. A left-hander from Arcadia, Calif., Clelland picked up all five of his wins during West Coast Conference play as he went 5-3 in nine WCC starts. He struck out 51 of his 69 batters in WCC action as he finished his four-year Gonzaga career with 193 strike outs to rank 8th on the Gonzaga
 Jeff Culpepper was selected for the second consecutive year as the Chicago Cubs tabbed the junior outfielder in the 24th round.  | |
Culpepper ranked third on the Bulldogs team this season with a .327 batting average including 14 doubles, 2 home runs and 39 RBI. He led the team with 16 stolen bases in 21 attempts and moved into 9th place on the Gonzaga career doubles list with 40. Culpepper currently has 199 career hits to rank 12th on the career hits list with 199 hits while posting a .335 career average over three seasons. The junior from Woodinville, Wash., played right field, center field and first base for the Bulldogs this season with 51 starts.
