NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central’s Joe Paparone and Ben Krusen were named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Baseball Players of the Week on Tuesday.

Paparone, a junior from Elmhurst, Illinois and York High School (Management major), batted .471 (8-for-17) with one run, four doubles, four RBI and a .706 slugging percentage for the 5-1 Cardinals last week. He went a combined 4-for-6 with two doubles and three RBI in a double-header split with Wheaton on April 26. Paparone was also 2-for-5 with an RBI and double in a 6-1 win against Wheaton in the opener of the three-game series on April 25.

Krusen, a junior pitcher from Glen Ellyn, Illinois and Glenbard West High School (Sport Management major), struck out a career-high 12 batters in the Cardinals’ win over Wheaton on April 25. He pitched all nine innings, scattering seven hits, one earned run and just one walk. Krusen moved to 5-2 on the season as North Central has won eight of its last nine games.

2014 CCIW Baseball Players of the Week

Hitter of the Week
Joe Paparone – North Central (4/29/14)
Ben Havel – Elmhurst (4/22/14)
Bobby Czarnowski – Illinois Wesleyan (4/15/14)
Jacob Van Duyne – Augustana (4/8/14)
Joe Belmonte – North Park (4/1/14)
Kyle Mellinger – Wheaton (3/25/14)
Dan Sabin – North Park (3/18/14)
Tommy Endres – North Park (3/11/14)
Grant Stewart – Augustana (3/4/14)

Pitcher of the Week
Ben Krusen – North Central (4/29/14)
Trey Martin – Wheaton (4/22/14)
Trey Martin – Wheaton (4/15/14)
Trey Martin – Wheaton (4/8/14)
Walter White – Augustana (4/1/14)
Evan Rahn – Wheaton (3/25/14)
Max Paolicchi – Millikin (3/18/14)
Kris Singh – North Central (3/11/14)
Chris Sauer – Augustana (3/4/14)

The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2012-13 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,400 academic all-conference recipients, 15 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans, 30 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, 68 all-Americans and one national championship team.