The first woman ever to play alongside the men in Japanese professional baseball will be a 16-year-old schoolgirl with a mean side-armed knuckleball pitch.

At a tiny five feet and 114 pounds, Eri Yoshida has drawn so much national attention for her unique pitch, she was drafted for a new independent league that will launch in April.

"I never dreamed of getting drafted," Yoshida told reporters Monday, a day after she was selected to play for the Kobe 9 Cruise. "I have only just been picked by the team and have not achieved anything," she said. "I want to play as a pro eventually in a higher league."

A female professional baseball federation existed for a few years in the 1950s, but Yoshida will become Japan's first-ever woman to play alongside professional male players.