Power 25 Update: April 28
April 28, 2019
This week’s Power 25 update saw several teams battling some unforgiving weather, but during the week, several of the state’s top teams suffered unexpected losses, which led to even more shake-ups inside the top-five. Here’s a look at the week that was in the Power 25.
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Cream of the Crop
+ Wauankee suffered their first loss of the season last week, a 9-3 defeat to No. 7-ranked Hortonville, but the Warriors built up a strong enough resume to this point to retain the top spot on the Power 25. They’re just one of the three one-loss teams on the rankings and will look to get back to their winning ways against Reedsburg this week.
+ Burlington is 10-1 this spring and went 3-0 last week, scoring a pair of wins over Westosha Central, a team that started the season on the rankings. They opened their season with a loss to Indian Trail, back on April 1, but have yet to lose since. It’s back to business on Tuesday when they play Union Grove, another ranked team on the Power 25 that’s moving up in this week’s update. Burlington is up, too, and are now the No. 2-ranked team in the state.
+ Janesville Craig rebounded this week and are back in the No. 3 slot. After last week’s loss to Burlington, their first of the spring, they took two from La Follette to earn their 10th and 11th wins of 2019. They travel to Mukwonago today and then play two against Madison East on Tuesday and Thursday.
+ The reigning Division-2 champs are one of three undefeated programs on the Power 25, but they’re also the highest ranked among them. Waupun is a perfect 12-0 this spring and just added to their powerful reputation as the state’s favorites to earn a second straight state title with their wins over Campbellsport and Watertown. The Warriors are now No. 4 on the rankings as a result.
+ It’s cutthroat inside the top-10 of the rankings and Kimberly’s loss to Appleton East is enough for them to slide down to No. 5 on the rankings. This is a strong squad that plays as a unit, but East loss knocks will knock them back a bit. While the weather doesn’t look promising, they have four games on the slate this week to climb back up the board.
Trending up
+ Hortonville’s week was teed up for them to make a big climb up the Power 25, and they came so close breaching the top-five. Had they completed their seven-run comeback against Appleton West they might have. Hortonville came within a run of charging back from a 7-0 deficit, but fell just short. Nonetheless, they scored one of the biggest wins of the season when they took down the previously undefeated No. 1-ranked Waunakee squad. The loss to the Terrors only slightly spoiled their hard work this week and they’re still up to No. 7 on the rankings because of that Waunakee win.
+ Whitefish Bay went 2-0 on the week with their sweep of Port Washington. The Blue Dukes have a really interesting mix of both underclass and senior talent that seems to be mixing at the right time. Whitefish Bay is ranked at No. 15 in this week’s update.
+ Stevens Point got things back on track last week with a perfect 3-0 week, picking up a pair of wins over Wausau East and improving to 7-3 on the year. Last week’s undefeated week is more of what we expected this year out of the Panthers, as they did not allow a run all week, winning the three games by a combined score of 20-0. The Panthers move up to No. 19 on the Power 25.
Down but not out
+ West Bend West split both of last week’s series match-ups with Slinger and Cedarburg. After opening the week with a 1-0 loss to the Owls, they dominated game two, winning handily by a 14-1 margin. Against Cedarburg, the Spartans’ red hot offense picked up where they left off the game before, and tallied another 15 runs. Cedarburg rallied in the second game of the doubleheader, becoming the first team to score double-digit runs against West all spring long. Two games with Port Washington is next on the schedule, giving the Spartans a North Shore Conference opponent to boost their Power 25 ranking by next week’s update.
+ Last week, Kenosha Bradford made their Florida trip, and while they came back winless, dropping three games, it’s tough to put a big penalty on them visiting the south to play some strong Florida talent.
Welcome
+ After a slow start, Oconomowoc is back into the Power 25. They earned a pair of tight Power 25 wins over then-No. 15 Muskego, after just squeaking by Mukwonago twice the week prior. The Racoons have a date with reeling Arrowhead this week, and can further cement themselves in the Power 25 with another strong conference performance.
+ Beloit Turner remains undefeated in 2019, at 12-0, and just added a few significant wins to their resume last week, against bubble teams Jefferson and Waukesha West. They debut on the Power 25 this spring all the way in the No. 21 spot.
+ Appleton West is 6-1 in the state of Wisconsin, with their only loss coming to West De Pere, and may have kept Hortonville from a top-five spot with a win over the Polar Bears on Thursday. The Terrors will have to earn their keep in a hurry, as they take on No. 5 Kimberly this week.
Out
+ Muskego wishes they could get a do-over last week as they dropped all four of their contests. The Warriors lost a pair to an on-the-rise Oconomowoc, one to Arrowhead, and another to Catholic Memorial. Those are three very good opponents, but we’d expect Muskego to perform a little better in these Classic Eight match-ups.
+ Arrowhead continues down their roller coaster season and has yet to get the wheels on track. The Warhawks lost a pair of games last week to Waukesha West and fall to 6-6 on the year and are now on the outside of the Power 25.
+ Bay Port also goes 1-2 on the week. The Pirates’ only win came against Ashwaubenon, as they fall to 6-5 on the year. In three of their five losses this spring, the Bay Port offense has been shut out, including Tuesday’s 4-0 loss to Sheboygan North.
OTHER NOTES
+ Green Bay Preble had an up-and-down week, splitting their two-game series with De Pere. The Redbirds hadn’t lost since April 6, so it was a big win for Preble, even if they dropped the other game in the series.
+ Three more in the win column for Webster moves them to 9-0 on the year. The Tigers, again did not give up a run last week, beating their opponents by a combined score of 23-0. Webster’s playing a lot like they did last year when they won the Division-3 title, and now they’re back on the prowl looking for the D-4 crown.
+ Indian Trail has cooled a little since their hot start to the spring. They’ve lost two of three including Friday’s loss to Wilmot, 9-4. They have three games next with the ranked Oak Creek Knights, starting on Tuesday, so they won’t have much time to warm back up again.
+ De Pere had a four game week going 3-1 with their only loss coming from No. 8 Green Bay Preble. However, the Redbirds avenged the loss right away against the Hornets on Saturday.
+ Franklin has lost three of their last four games and split last week, beating South Milwaukee 6-1 before losing to Westosha Central by the same score. After a strong start to the spring, the Sabers are still bouncing back from their two-game sweep to rivals Oak Creek two weeks ago.
+ West Bend East goes 2-1 on the week, with their only loss coming in a split two-game series with crosstown rivals West. They’re playing a 9-4 Slinger team, which has won three straight.
+ Sun Prairie swept Verona last week in convincing fashion, 11-1 and 7-0, to improve to 8-5 on the year. It’s La Follette twice and Arrowhead in between this week.
+ Union Grove continues to roll since cracking the Power 25. A 3-0 week improves the Broncos record to an 11-2 record on the year, and they’re also winners of nine straight. In their three games last week, the Broncos outscored their opposition 32-1. They’ve only played one program (Westosha Central, twice) that has spent any time on the Power 25 this spring, but Union Grove’s 11 wins, featuring a collection of lopsided victories, still says a lot about how well they’ve been playing in 2019. They have a huge two-game set with No. 2 Burlington next on the schedule.