By Mike Walsh
Correspondent
The University of St. Francis sophomore first baseman Nate Maliska was chosen the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Player of the Week in baseball for April 7.
In helping the Saints to four wins that week, Maliska went 9-for-15 (.600) with eight RBI and seven runs scored. The St. Laurence graduate’s week was highlighted by going 3-for-4 in a 12-7 victory over host Judson University in the second game of a CCAC doubleheader on April 6.
Maliska finished with at least one RBI in each of the four games, including three RBI in a 20-3 decision over Judson in the first game of the April 6 doubleheader.
Wild about the ‘Cats
Northwestern softball player Izzy Cunnea was named the Big Ten’s Co-Freshman of the Week for April 8.
Cunnea, an Oak Lawn resident who prepped at Marist, batted .375 with an extra-base hit in each of the Wildcats’ three games as they swept visiting Michigan. For the week, Cunnea tallied two runs, five RBI and posted a slugging percentage of 1.250.
In Northwestern’s 9-1 victory on April 5, the freshman designated player went 1-for-2 with her first career home run in the third inning.
The next day, Cunnea belted a grand slam in the first inning of the Wildcats’ 8-5 victory over the Wolverines. In the nightcap, she went 1-for-3 in a 5-4 triumph.
Another Marist graduate, Northwestern left fielder Angela Zedak, went 4-for-4 with five RBI and three home runs in an 8-0 victory over Illinois on April 9 in Champaign. By homering in the first, third and sixth innings against the Illini, Zedak set a single-game record for home runs in Northwestern softball history.
Aurora Accolades
Aurora University men’s volleyball player Sebastian Ciszewski was named to the FrogJump All-Freshman Team for the 2024 season. The 6-foot-5 freshman middle hitter tallied 1.052 blocks per set this season, which ranked him 12th nationally.
Ciszewski, a Riverside-Brookfield graduate, totaled 101 blocks on the season to establish a new single-season mark for the Spartans. he also averaged 1.64 kills per set for the campaign while garnering a place on the All-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Second Team.
Ciszewski helped Aurora set a program single-season record for wins with 18 and won the NACC title with a league mark of 11-1.
The Panthers’ Tiger
Eastern Illinois guard Tiger Booker became the 12th Panthers men’s basketball history and the first since 2021 to earn first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference accolades, which he did for the 2023-24 season.
The 5-foot-10 senior from Bogan paced the Panthers in scoring this season with an average of 16.1 points per game. That was good enough for sixth in the OVC. Booker scored 20 or more points in nine games this season.
In addition to his scoring prowess, Booker led the OVC in steals per game (1.8), with his 57 total steals tied for ninth on the EIU single-season list. Booker was second in the OVC in free-throw percentage (86.4) while ranking in the top ten in assists (58), assists-to-turnovers (2.32) and field-goal percentage (43.9) for the year.