Prep Baseball Report

Updated Illinois Power 25 Team Rankings


By Andy Sroka & Drew Locascio
Illinois Staff

This is the final installment of the Illinois Power 25 Team Rankings until the state playoffs conclude in the middle of June. O’Fallon remains No. 1 once again and is now 33-3-1 on the season. The Panthers survived their conference rivals, No. 10 Edwardsville on Saturday, eventually winning 6-5 in walk-off fashion to take home their Regional's championship.

The final four teams will be set for Class 1A and 2A after today’s Super-Sectional matchups. The state finals for both classes get underway this Friday at O’Brien Field in Peoria.

Class 3A and 4A Regional champions have been crowned and the Sectional semifinals start Wednesday around the state. Seventeen of the 25 teams in the Power 25 are still alive in the postseason.

Below is a breakdown of this week’s Power 25.

playoff news

+ Walk-Off Regional Championship Winners - No. 1 O’Fallon, No. 2 Neuqua Valley, No. 4 Sandburg and new No. 10 Marist all won their Regional Championship games in walk-off fashion this past weekend.

+ East Suburban Catholic League - The depth of the ESCC is showing as six teams won Regional Championships this past weekend. St. Viator, Marist, Carmel Catholic, Joliet Catholic, Nazareth and St. Patrick are all still alive and in the Sectional Semifinals this week.

+ Upsets Inside The Top 25 - When looking at 4A Regional Championships there were some noteworthy upsets of Power 25 squads. No. 11 Lyons was knocked out of the playoffs by St. Rita 3-1 for the second year in a row. Bradley-Bourbonnais stunned No. 12 Moline and defeated them 4-2. Saint Viator knocked off No. 14 Mundelein in a wild 12-11 extra-inning contest. Lake Park won a tight 3-2 game over No. 17 St. Charles North.  Maine West defeated No. 22 Oak Park-River Forest 3-2. Lane Tech shocked No. 24 New Trier by the score of 7-3.

+ Intriguing Sectional Matchups To Watch - As the postseason rolls on there are a number of interesting matchups on the Horizon. Below are just a few to keep an eye on this week:

+ No. 4 Sandburg vs. No. 8 Lincoln-Way East
 + No. 6 Andrew vs. No. 10 Marist
 + CCL Blue - No. 5 St. Laurence vs. No. 7 Mount Carmel
 + CCL Blue - No. 15 Brother Rice vs. St. Rita
 + No. 9 Plainfield North vs. No. 14 Plainfield East
 + Saint Viator vs. No. 13 Libertyville
 + No. 20 Huntley vs. McHenry
 + Lake Park vs. Marmion Academy


A LOOK AT THE TOP FIVE

+ No. 1 O’Fallon (33-3-1) - The Panthers knew that if they wanted to make it back to a Sectional final, where they finished last year, they’d probably need to go through Edwardsville. The Tigers have long been their Southwestern Conference rivals and the two have traded blows season after season. This postseason the two were on a path to meet in the Regional final and it resulted in a narrow, O’Fallon walk-off win, 6-5, in extra innings on Friday.

+ No. 2 Neuqua Valley (30-3) - Yorkville took the Wildcats to the brink on Saturday in their Regional final match-up. The two teams sent their aces to the mound, the Foxes used Stephen Sewruk and Neuqua opted for James Kulak, and it showed in the box score. The first run of the game came in the fifth inning by Yorkville, but the Wildcats scored a run in the sixth to tie and then again in the bottom of the seventh to walk it off and win another Regional title.

+ No. 3 Joliet Catholic (30-5) - JCA’s Greg Ziegler helped the Hilltoppers glide to a Regional title on Saturday. He slugged a grand slam and drove in eight of his team’s 12 runs against Morris. They’re set to play Tinley Park on Wednesday in their Sectional’s 3A semifinals.

+ No. 4 Sandburg (25-6) - The Eagles were tasked with a tough Regional finals match-up against a Providence Catholic squad that was capable of beating any team on their best day. The two teams traded a bunch of runs late and the Celtics were actually the ones with the one-run, seventh-inning lead. With two outs and runners on first and second, Sandburg’s Brian Adams smacked a double to left that brought the tying and walk-off runs home, lifting his team to a Regional crown. Things don’t get any easier, either, as they’ll be opposing ranked Lincoln-Way East in Wednesday’s Sectional semis.

+ No. 5 St. Laurence (30-7) - The Vikings rolled through their Regional, outscoring their two opponents Kennedy and Reavis 21-2. The intensity will pick up this Wednesday as they face conference rival No. 7 Mount Carmel in the Sectional semifinals. St. Laurence has the added edge of hosting the Sectional, meaning they’ll have the true home-field advantage, too. They won two of their three meetings with the Caravan during the regular season.

NEW TO THE TOP 25

+ Loyola Academy (21-9-1) - The Ramblers have been knocking on the door of the top 25 the last few weeks and finally find themselves at No. 23 in this week’s update. Loyola took home their Regional championship, defeating Leyden 4-2 and then Niles Notre Dame 4-1. In the Sectional semifinals on Wednesday, the Ramblers take on underdog Maine West who shocked Oak Park-River Forest, 3-2, in their Regional title game.

DROPPED OUT

+ Normal U-High

On the bubble

+ McHenry (26-10)

+ Grayslake Central (27-6)

+ Hall Township (25-2)

+ Mt. Zion (26-4)

+ Plainfield Central (24-9)

+ Normal West (23-14)

+ Aurora Christian (30-2)

+ Teutopolis (28-6)

+ Coal City (32-5)

+ Rochester (25-6)

+ Effingham (25-5)

CLICK HERE to view updated Power 25 Team Rankings

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