Updated Wisconsin Power 25 Team Rankings
April 23, 2018
The Power 25 gets to acknowledge some sustained game action as the weather, especially toward the end of the week, cooperated with the WIAA baseball calendar. A number of teams used this past weekend to schedule make-up games, doubleheaders -- even tripleheaders -- just to make sure their seasons could launch after what’s been a cold, wet spring not exactly conducive for baseball.
It seems like, by early indications and weather reports, that this upcoming week will allow for all of these out-of-whack schedules to have an opportunity to get themselves back in order, somewhat. And if you’re Athens or Eau Claire Memorial, two Power 25 teams that have yet to sneak in a single game, you’ll just be looking to finally embark on the 2018 season.
Continue on below for a closer look at this past week of action.
trading wins and losses
All three of Kimberly, Wilmot, and Arrowhead played each other over the weekend and all three beat each other up, making a mess of the top five. The Papermakers beat Wilmot but lost to Arrowhead. The Panthers beat Arrowhead, but obviously lost to Kimberly. The Warhawks’ win over Kimberly only muddies this thing up even more.
Of the group, only Wilmot is new to the top five. They leap five spots from No. 8 last week to our new No. 3, after wins over the Warhawks and No. 24 Kenosha Bradford. The Panthers are one of the few teams in the state to have played seven games already and their weekend loss to No. 2 Kimberly represents the only defeat on their schedule thus far. Arrowhead pulls in at No. 4 after Week 4.
COUGARS STAY SPOTLESS
In less than ideal conditions out there, teams across the state have been stealing wins from each other in the early going. Janesville Craig repeats as the No. 1 this week because they’ve been able to avoid their first loss of the year. They met ranked then-No. 13 Burlington on Saturday and earned the win in a tight 4-3 contest at home, earning their fifth win of the season. Losses to Badger and Craig last week pushes Burlington to 2-2 this year and down a spot to No. 14 in the new rankings.
WAUNAKEE'S WEEKEND
Previously ranked No. 10 Hortonville and No. 15 Waunakee met for a doubleheader on Saturday at the Warriors’ home field for a marquee Power 25 matchup. Waunakee won the first game dramatically, walking off the Polar Bears on a Stefan Jeziak single in the bottom of the 7th. Game two wasn’t quite as close: the Warriors slugged two homers in the 12-2 win over the Polar Bears. Sophomores Nate Stevens and Taiten Manriquez were the ones powering Waunakee to the win in game two. Stevens smacked one of his team’s homers and went 3-for-3, while Manriquez threw five solid innings, allowing just one run on three hits and he fanned seven.
The two big wins push Waunakee up to No. 11 while Hortonville tumbles to No. 22 in the updated rankings.
TRIPLEHEADER WEBSTER
Webster grinded to three wins on Saturday and outscored their opponents 22-1 along the way. They kicked off the day with a 10-0 win over Edgerton that featured a great effort on the mound from Hunter Rosenbaum, where he went 5.2 innings, struck out eight, and gave up just three hits and a walk. They played Deerfield in their next two games of the day and got wins on the mound from both Washburn brothers, Jack and Owen.
The three wins nudge Webster up a spot to No. 19 in this week’s update.
MISSING IN ACTION
There were still plenty of teams who weren’t able to suit up this past week, including Power 25-ers: Oconomowoc, Catholic Memorial, Green Bay Preble, West De Pere, Middleton, Waupun, Columbus, Eau Claire Memorial, Eau Claire North, Oshkosh West, Tomah, and Athens.
Eau Claire Memorial and Athens are two teams on this list who have yet to get in a single game this season so far.
KEY NOTES
+ Sun Prairie was leapfrogged by Wilmot and Arrowhead despite winning their only game they played last week, over Janesville Parker. They move back just one spot to No. 5 overall and are 3-1 this season, with only one loss to Middleton under their belts in 2018.
+ Antigo played two games on Saturday, against Tomahawk and Wausau East, and won them both, to get to 5-1 this season. They come in ranked No. 20, up a spot from last week.
+ Beloit Turner took two wins from Brodhead/Juda this past week, helping them to a 6-1 record on the season. They also move up a spot because of it, going from No. 22 to No. 21 in the latest update.
LOOKING AHEAD
Typically, we’d use this section to note a few games to look forward to over the next week, but with so much to be made up, it’s impossible to say what this week is going to look like. With fingers crossed, it looks like the forecast will allow for Wisconsin’s biggest week of games yet. We’ll knock on wood too, just to be safe.
CLICK HERE to view updated Power 25 Team Rankings
2018 SEASON
+ Updated Wisconsin 2018 Rankings
+ Updated Wisconsin 2019 Rankings