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The Northern League has announced that Kansas City T-Bones pitcher Andrew Cruse has been selected as Pitcher of the Week for the week ending July 18.

Cruse, who leads the Northern League with eight wins, saw action in two games during the week. In his lone start for Kansas City, the right-hander held the Joliet JackHammers to just one run on two hits over seven strong innings in a win on July 18. It was his sixth straight victory in as many starts. On the year, Cruse is 8-2 with a 1.90 ERA over 11 starts. He currently ranks second in the league in ERA and strikeouts. In eight of his 11 appearances, he has allowed no more than one earned run.

Cruse was also the starting pitcher for the Northern League at the All-Star Game in Tucson, AZ versus the Golden Baseball League. He pitched two scoreless innings, yielding only one hit and striking out one on his way to earning the win for the victorious Northern League.

Cruse, 26, is playing his second season in the Northern League, but first with the TBones. He was acquired with a player to be named later by Kansas City on November 24, 2009 from the Winnipeg Goldeyes in exchange for two-time Northern League all-star outfielder Aharon Eggleston. With the Goldeyes in 2009, Cruse was 5-5 with a 4.58 ERA.

The 6-1, 200-pounder was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth round of the 2006 amateur draft out of the University of South Carolina. He spent three seasons in the Phillies farm system, posting a career mark of 17-22 with a 3.66 ERA.

Cruse becomes the sixth T-Bone overall to earn weekly honors this season, and the second T-Bones pitcher.