Former CCIW baseball players get shot at Majors

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Three former College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin baseball players are getting their chance to play in a Major League stadium some day.

Corey Lapinski and Drew Himes of Illinois Wesleyan, and Brad Groth of Elmhurst are three former CCIW players who are all currently competing on a minor league roster. Lapinski and Himes are pitchers for the Tri-City Valley Cats, a single A short-season affiliate of the Houston Astros located in Troy, N.Y., while Groth is an infielder for the San Francisco Giants’ Rookie League team in Arizona.

Lapinski and Himes recently helped Illinois Wesleyan to a conference championship in 2005 and were members of the CCIW All-Conference Baseball Team. As of July 20, Lapinski was 0-0 with a 7.11 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched, while Himes was 1-0 with a 7.50 ERA in 6.0 innings pitched.

Groth, currently a second baseman for the Arizona Giants, shared CCIW Player of the Year honors with teammate Rob Daggett in 2004 and helped the Bluejays to a second place finish that year behind Illinois Wesleyan. Through July 19, Groth was batting .237 with nine hits in 38 at bats.