Power 25 Update: April 14

Last week we saw a relatively light week of action due to some inclement weather most of the week, but the southeastern part of the state was fortunate enough to get some difference making games in, to give us some serious shake ups to the Power 25.

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CREAM OF THE CROP

• No. 1 Waunakee stays undefeated at 6-0 and picks up one win last week over Deforest. The Warriors will face No. 12 Arrowhead this week on Monday.

• No. 2 Janesville Craig posted a pair of wins thanks to some strong pitching last week. The Cougars gave up just one run in 14 innings of baseball. The Cougars will look to hold onto their No. 2 spot next week, but will have to get through a tough No. 15 Sun Prairie squad.

• Kimberly stays at No. 3, the Papermakers traveled west to Ohio and collected their most notable win of the week against Olentangy Liberty on Saturday, the No. 21 ranked team in Ohio.

• Green Bay Preble slides up to No. 4. The Hornets remain undefeated and picked up one win over Manitowoc Lincoln to go to 3-0 on the year..

• No. 5 Waupun (7-0) picked up two more wins last week including another seventh inning victory, this time over Kettle Moraine Lutheran. Waupun is proving they can win in many different ways, and most importantly this battle tested group is getting it done late in games.

TRENDING UP

• No. 6 Kenosha Bradford is off to a hot 7-0 start and clearly announced their presence in the Power 25 with a three-game Southeast Conference sweep of then No. 9 Oak Creek. Bradford then finished off the week with a 6-4 win over Wilmot, making it four W’s on the week. The Red Devils scored 35 runs, and Kyle McKinnon has been a part of nearly half of them, driving in nine a scoring seven on the week.

• Staying in the Southeast Conference, No. 7 Franklin picked up three more wins this week, albeit against a winless Racine Case, highlighted by Friday’s doubleheader sweep where they outscored the Eagles 26-4 in the two games – and this came off the back of their come-from-behind victory on Tuesday, in which they needed 10 innings and a Kian Dillon walk-off single to earn the 4-3 win. Ryan Segebrecht tallied five total hits in the doubleheader on Friday and Matt Devinger homered, too. This Franklin team is really warming up in their first-ever spring campaign. The Sabers move to 7-0 and look to stay unbeaten as they take on a reeling Oak Creek team. 

• The Southeast Conference has five teams in the Power 25, but presently is looking rather top heavy. Up four spots, No. 9 Kenosha Indian Trail collected three more wins last week in conference play, but also against a winless group in Racine Park. None the less, the Hawks are taking care of business and are 7-1 on the year.

• No. 10 Burlington got back on track with three wins last week to improve to 4-1 on the season. The Demons continue to show their dominance on the mound, allowing just five runs on the week, while striking out 30 in 17 innings pitched.

• No. 11 Muskego picked up a big resume booster with a win over No. 4 Arrowhead last week. They are 3-1 on the season and have a tough week ahead with two games against No. 20 Catholic Memorial and our newest bubble team South Milwaukee (5-1)

• No. 18 Whitefish Bay continues to pick up quality wins, and the Blue Dukes collected three more last week improving to 5-1 on the season. The Blue Dukes are riding a four-game win streak and their young and inexperienced squad is taking to the spring neatly – and sooner than we might have even anticipated. They went 3-0 last week with two wins over Homestead, followed up by a 4-1 win over Greenfield on Saturday. They’re beaming with talent and have a core of players who are going to be fun to watch for the next three or four seasons.

• Wauwatosa East improved to 5-0 on the year now, after cracking the Power 25 last week. The Red Raiders picked up two quality wins against Kettle Moraine and Brookfield Central.

DOWN BUT NOT OUT

• No. 12 Arrowhead’s only contest of the week was a 7-3 loss to No. 18 Muskego. That puts the Warhawks at just 4-2, but both losses coming at the hands of Power 25 teams. Arrowhead will need to right the ship in a hurry this week as they take on No. 1 Waunakee in non-conference action on Monday.

• No. 14 Stevens Point split another double header last week, this one against Marshfield, and is off to an inauspicious start at just 2-2. The Panthers have given up 10 or more runs in both of their losses, an area where SPASH was able to hang their hats in 2018, limiting opponents to five or more runs just five times all of last year.

• No. 21 Oak Creek ran into the buzz saw that is Kenosha Bradford last week and dropped all three contests to the Red Devils. It doesn’t get much easier for the Knights either, as this week they have a three game series against and unbeaten Franklin (7-0). If Oak Creek doesn’t straighten up this week, they could quickly find themselves outside the Power 25.

WELCOME

• No. 25 West Bend East picked up two wins last week including a 30-1 win over Port Washington, moving them to 7-0 on the season. The Suns offense has been on fire this season, scoring 97 runs in seven games, good for an average of almost 14 runs a game, led by its star catcher Joey Spence. We just updated our state Class of 2021 rankings last week, and Spence budged his way to the No. 2 overall spot for the natural feel he has in the left-handed batter’s box. It’s directly helped the Suns, too. To say Spence is charging the Suns is simply an understatement – he’s 14-for-18 this spring with 19 RBIs already. It’s a staggering start for the sophomore. He isn’t doing it alone, either. Senior Mason Kirk is another bat off to a hot start in 2019, and it’s helping East onto the Power 25 and beyond. This week we will get a real look at the Suns as they will be tested by cross town rival No. 17 West Bend West.

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