Updated Illinois Power 25 Team Rankings

May 21, 2018
By Andy Sroka
Staff Writer

It was an important week for the Power 25, considering that it was the final week before 3A and 4A Regional action begins and it also featured the prestigious Steven Bajenski Memorial Tournament. With so many top-25 teams pitted against each other, it forced some fluctuation up and down the board. Sandburg, the tournament winner, enters the top five after lifting the Do It Stevie's Way trophy.

Only one team slid off the rankings in this update, making way for Normal U-High’s return to the board. The Pioneers were previously ranked briefly back in mid-April but they make their return in this week’s update after a 4-0 week.

Continue reading on for all of the details surrounding the last week of action as each of these teams prepares for their first taste of playoff ball – weather permitting, of course.

CLIMBING

+ Sandburg - The Eagles picked an excellent time to get hot. Stretching back to May 7, Sandburg’s lost just once and that was to ranked Marist. Last week, in the Steven Bajenski Memorial Tournament, the Eagles defeated Lyons, Oak Park-River Forest, and St. Laurence in that order to claim first place in the prestigious tourney in their first-ever invite. They’re now 22-6 this spring and climb to a season-high No. 4 rank on the Power 25.

+ Andrew - Andrew’s been on the ascent ever since mid-April when they were ranked No. 15. Today, after a 5-0 week, they’re all the way up to No. 6. They’ve been one of the state’s most consistent squads this spring and are now 28-4-1. They opened their week with a huge 20-0 win over Thornton and that clearly set the tone. They snapped off wins against Morris, another against Thornton, rivals Tinley Park, and ended the week with a 9-1 win over Joliet West on Saturday. They open Regional play against either Romeoville or Shepard on Wednesday.

+ Mount Carmel - Despite losing to St. Laurence in the semifinals of the DISW tournament, the Caravan had won seven straight games headed into their meeting with the Vikings. Last week, they kicked things off with a 13-1 win over Saint Ignatius on Tuesday and a 17-7 win over Richards on Wednesday. They comfortably defeated Montini Catholic in the first game of the tournament, 10-1, on Thursday and then took down Chicago Catholic League – Blue rivals St. Rita 3-1 in Friday’s quarterfinals. Alek Thomas’ grand slam in their semifinal game with St. Laurence wasn’t enough to push them to a finals berth, but they still climb a couple spots in the rankings, to No. 7, with an overall solid week of play.

+ Lincoln-Way East - Lincoln-Way East had fallen over the last couple of editions of the Power 25, from No. 4 to No. 10 most recently. They’re back up to No. 8 after this week’s update because of a three-win week. They expectedly dismantled Bolingbrook, outscoring them 17-0 in their two-game series, allowing just four combined hits. Wheaton-Warrenville South was their next victim on Saturday and the Griffins earned the 9-3 win in that one. East now gets to take a few days of rest as it prepares for Regional action to open on Wednesday, when they’ll play either Bloom Township or Joliet West.

+ Edwardsville - Like Sandburg, Edwardsville has chosen an opportune time to begin playing its best baseball of the season. They only played twice last week, but that includes Tuesday’s 3-0 win over the new No. 1 O’Fallon. The Panthers had just been elected the new No. 1-ranked team in the Power 25 when they had to immediately put that title to the test against their nearby rivals. The Tigers’ Reid Hendrickson shut them out in this six innings of work. He allowed just two hits, three walks, and struck out six. Cole Hampton drove in a pair to help lift the team over the top-ranked team in the state, subsequently improving their own Power 25 status. They played again next on Saturday against Springfield and earned another 3-0 win. At 24-9, Edwardsville is now ranked No. 10 on the board.

+ Moline - The Maroons have been quietly amassing a phenomenal season this spring and are currently ranked No. 12, their highest spot to date, after a 4-0 week. Moline earned two wins over Saint Viator, a win over Sterling, and one more against Galesburg to achieve a 27-5 record. They open Regional action tomorrow, Tuesday, against Danville.

+ Marist - The Redhawks have had to weave their 26-8 record amidst one of the toughest schedules in the state this spring. It’s simultaneously caused their Power 25 ranking to fluctuate quite a bit, but after last week, they’re ranked a season-high No. 13. Since losing to Indiana powerhouse Andrean on May 10, Marist has won five straight. They started the week with a two-game sweep of Marian Catholic. They beat Sandburg 3-0, which looks even more impressive retrospectively after the Eagles’ DISW tournament win. And they finished the week with a redemptive 12-2 victory at home against Andrean and a 6-4 win over ranked Brother Rice on Saturday. The Redhawks will play their first Regional game on Tuesday against either Blue Island Eisenhower or Crete-Monee to keep up this hot streak.

+ Buffalo Grove - On Thursday, Buffalo Grove met Barrington to determine the winner of the Mid Suburban League. They went on to win 6-2, their second victory over the Broncos of the week, to earn their first MSL title in 26 years. After their two wins over Barrington, Buffalo Grove notched a win on Saturday against Niles West to improve to 26-5 this spring. The monumental week for the program lifts them to a No. 20 rank in the Power 25, too.

+ Huntley - Huntley wins the Fox Valley Conference after a stellar month of May to pull away from a McHenry team that tailed them for much of the season. The Red Raiders have lost just twice this month, once to McHenry on May 5 and again this past week to Prairie Ridge. Regardless of the loss, Huntley won four other games last week, including its first against the Wolves on Thursday. They’re 27-6 on the year and are up to No. 21 on the Power 25 in their second stint on the top-25 rankings. Rain has already cancelled their final regular season game this afternoon, so they get to use this time to prepare for Wednesday’s Regional against the winner of the Rockford Jefferson-Belvidere North match-up.

SINKING

+ Plainfield North - Having never been ranked lower than No. 7 this spring, Plainfield North’s 2-2 week trips them up to the No. 9 spot. The Tigers’ week was a good news-bad news situation. They opened the week with a 2-0 win over ranked rivals Plainfield East on Monday but dropped winnable games to Manteno and Joliet West later on. They have one more game on the calendar before Regional play gets underway on Wednesday. They’re currently 22-7-1 and will await either Waubonsie Valley or Oswego East in their opening playoff game.

+ St. Charles North - For the first time this season, the North Stars experienced a slump, and it cost them 10 spots on the Power 25. St. Charles North entered the week 23-2-1 but endured four straight losses to close their regular season. Three of those losses came at the hands of crosstown rivals St. Charles East, which might sting a little more. Plainfield South earned a 4-2 win on the North Stars’ own turf on Saturday, too. The team will regroup in order to ready themselves for the upcoming postseason where they’ll play either Hoffman Estates or Glenbard North on Wednesday.

+ Brother Rice - The Crusaders are 22-12 overall but that’s including what’s been a tough May. Their schedule notbaly picked up this month and it’s gotten them to a 4-6 record. They’ve been on the losing end of match-ups with St. Laurence, Mount Carmel, and Marist. This past week, they went 2-2 and earned wins over Hononegah and Lemont but couldn’t beat fellow ranked opponents Lyons and Marist. Their month-long struggles against the Power 25 is part of the reason that they’ve fallen to No. 18 in the rankings. Still, playing in the CCL – Blue means you’re battle-tested and no team will want a meeting with the Crusaders in the playoffs. That includes their opponent on Wednesday, which will be Chicago’s Kelly or Hubbard programs.

+ Oak Park-River Forest - The Huskies entered the month of May 14-3 but have gone just 7-4 since. All four losses have come at the hands of some quality teams, but it still reflects in their Power 25 ranking, where they now rank No. 22. The week of play started on a sour note on Wednesday against conference rivals Lyons. The Lions earned the 10-1 win, and thus, the season sweep of OPRF. The Huskies followed that up with a loss on Thursday to Lockport, a 3-2 win over Providence Catholic, and Saturday’s 12-7 loss to Sandburg in the DISW semifinals. They’ll hope to reverse the course of their season in Wednesday’s Regional against either Von Steuben or Maine East.

+ New Trier - The Trevians were ranked as high as No. 6 on the Power 25 but have been regularly slipping ever since mid-April, now down to a season-low No. 24 ranking. New Trier is still 21-9 this spring, so they look solid, but have yet to find consistency. Despite the record, the longest win streak of their season was seven games and that was way back at the start of April. They’ve countered wins with losses since and it’s gotten them here. They’ll be playing in Wednesday’s Regional against either Lincoln Park or Whitney Young to begin their postseason play.

NEW TO THE TOP 25

+ No. 25 Normal U-High - The Pioneers had briefly earned a place among the Power 25 back in the April 16 edition but spent just a single week on the board. Their return to the ranks, slotted into the No. 25 spot this week, comes after a 4-0 week that featured two wins over Decatur Eisenhower, one over Rantoul, and another over Champaign Central. Normal U-High is 27-8 on the spring and has put together a 10-2 month that has them prepared for the 3A Regional they’ll be playing on Wednesday against either Clinton or Pontiac.

DROPPED OUT

+ Grayslake Central - Two 3A teams trade spots on the Power 25 in this update. The Rams are out and the Pioneers are on in the final edition of the rankings before the playoffs begin. Central had started the spring 15-0 before running into Antioch for their first loss of 2018 on April 24. They played seven games in last week’s grind and lost three of them, two to Grant and one to Lakes. They avoided being swept by Grant with a win in their second game of the week. They also added wins over Von Steuben, Woodstock, and Woodstock North. They’re still going to be a force in the 3A bracket, regardless. The Rams boast a 26-6 record this spring and will begin their Regional action on Wednesday against the winner of the game between Chicago’s Sullivan and Senn schools.