NAPERVILLE –North Park outfielder Joe Perona (hitter) and Illinois Wesleyan right-hander Cole Shamhart (pitcher) are the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Baseball Student-Athletes of the Week, according to a Monday afternoon announcement from the league office.
 
Hitter: Joe Perona, North Park
Perona, a sophomore from Chicago, went 10-for-16 last week with three doubles, a triple, a home run and three stolen bases. His 1.125 slugging percentage included 12 runs batted in and six runs scored. He’s hit safely in five consecutive games – all multi-hit performances.
 
In Saturday’s doubleheader finale versus Carroll, Perona delivered a walk-off RBI double for the Vikings in the 12th inning of their 8-7 win in Chicago.
 
Pitcher: Cole Shamhart, Illinois Wesleyan
Shamhart improved to 8-0 on the mount for the Titans last Tuesday with 6.0 scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory over Carthage. The Oak Park, Ill. native struck out 12 of the 25 batters he faced – a new career high – before giving way to the bullpen.
 
Shamhart is now a three-time CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week in 2024.

2024 CCIW Baseball Student-Athletes of the Week
Hitter
April 29: Joe Perona, North Park
April 22: Kyle Gibson, Millikin
April 15: Joey Appino, Carroll; Louis Perona, Illinois Wesleyan
April 8: Justin Swanson, North Park
April 1: Justin Gadomski, Illinois Wesleyan
March 25: Dymitri Kanellakis, Augustana
March 18: Joe Klein, Wheaton
March 11: Tristan Figus, Illinois Wesleyan
March 4: Mason Hege, Carroll
Feb. 26: Alex DiVito, North Park

Pitcher
April 29: Cole Shamhart, Illinois Wesleyan
April 22: Bryce Schaum, Carthage; Drew Detmers, Millikin
April 15: Caleb Buehrle, Millikin
April 8: Brett Buzzelli, Carroll
April 1: Chance Carruthers, Augustana
March 25: Cole Bozzi, Elmhurst
March 18: Cole Shamhart, Illinois Wesleyan
March 11: Bryce Schaum, Carthage
March 4: Cole Shamhart, Illinois Wesleyan
Feb. 26: Adam Bendoraitis, Augustana