Prep Baseball Report

Updated Wisconsin Power 25 Team Rankings


By Andy Sroka & Steve Nielsen
Wisconsin Staff

It was a busy week for baseball in Wisconsin which made for a volatile Power 25, which is now all shook up. Calendars, schedules are finally back in order, somewhat, and it’s creating some chaos within the top-25 list. This week we have a new No. 1, Stevens Point making their Power 25 debut, a new-look top-five, and a few teams that have slipped way down the board.

With Kimberly and Eau Claire Memorial falling so steeply, see which teams benefitted from their struggles this past week.

Continue reading for a better, more detailed look at this past week of jam-packed action.

WARHAWKS FLY TO TOP

Arrowhead is our new No. 1 after a week that saw them go 5-0, featuring four wins against top-10 opponents. They downed Oconomowoc twice and swept Catholic Memorial in a doubleheader. They’re getting in a groove at the right time, too. With the former No. 1-ranked Janesville Craig taking one on the chin from Sun Prairie, Arrowhead used their great week to launch them into the top spot overall.

The Warhawks are 10-2 this season and own wins against Kimberly, Waunakee, and the aforementioned Catholic Memorial and Oconomowoc. Both the Crusaders and Raccoons are bumped up a single spot this week’s rankings update despite their two losses to the new No. 1; Catholic Memorial comes in at No. 6 and Oconomowoc is now No. 5, entering the top-five for the first time this year.

HEAVYWEIGHT MAIN EVENT

On Sunday, Janesville Craig and Sun Prairie met in a battle of the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams. Sun Prairie clung to a 4-3 lead, fending off a late Cougars comeback attempt. It ended their brief two-game skid, allowing them to keep their No. 2-ranked status.

If it weren’t for their critical win over the former No. 1, the Cardinals might have been in some trouble, as far as their rank within the Power 25 goes. Sun Prairie came into Sunday having lost back-to-back games on Tuesday and Friday to Madison Memorial. They were shutout by the Spartans on Friday, 1-0, making their performance on Sunday that much more important. The Cardinals could have easily been sitting in the top spot, but those two mid-week losses and the huge week by Arrowhead keep them sitting at No. 2 with Janesville Craig right behind at No. 3.

PAPERMAKERS, OLD ABES TRIPPED UP

Headed into this past week, Kimberly was the No. 3-ranked team in the state while Eau Claire Memorial was No. 5. Today, in the update, the Papermakers are barely holding on to the edge of the top 10 and the Old Abes fell 12 spots to No. 17.

On Monday, Kimberly suffered a 3-1 defeat to ranked Oshkosh West and a 10-2 defeat to unranked Neenah on Tuesday. They padded their fall out of the top five with a doubleheader sweep of Appleton North, ranked No. 13 after the update. With the week salvaged, the Papermakers are now ranked No. 9 at 8-4.

Eau Claire Memorial has only managed to play eight games this season and it hasn’t exactly made the most of them. They lost two of three this past week, including an 11-0 sound defeat to River Falls. After coming into the season ranked No. 4, Memorial is now the No. 17-ranked squad and will have to turn things around to stay in the illustrious Power 25.

BUSINESS AS USUAL

Even though they dropped two games to Xavier this past week, West De Pere still maintains a firm grip in the top-10 ranks. The Phantoms are full of talent, and their 11-3 record proves it, but they are the unfortunate victims of a weak strength of schedule. They have yet to challenge a Power 25-ranked team this season and they might not play one all regular season.

Still, if they’re able to continue to take care of business, they’ll remain members of the Power 25’s top-10. West De Pere always has a chance with Connor Langreder on the mound, too, who helped the Phantoms win their one game in the three-game series with Xavier over the week.

WILMOT’S STREAKING

The Panthers won all three of its games this past week, including the pair of shutouts the team earned on Friday over Delavan-Darien. Wilmot is propelled five spots up the rankings in this week’s update, a reward for playing one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the state. They’re the Power 25’s new No. 4.

Outside of conference play, Wilmot has played three ranked teams and have won two of those games, including a win over new No. 1 Arrowhead. That’s going to be crucial win on the Panthers’ resume moving forward.

WELCOME, STEVENS POINT

In this week’s update, there’s only one team making their Power 25 debut and it’s Stevens Point. The Panthers are 9-1 this spring and own a win against ranked Green Bay Preble. Last week, they had two wins against Wisconsin Rapids and a win over La Crosse Central that helped boost their argument for a spot on the top-25 ranks.

They debut on the Power 25 ranked No. 24. With their place on the board, Burlington has been ousted from the ranks. The Demons have scuffled a bit this spring and own an 8-4 record. They have suffered losses to Badger, Janesville Craig, Westosha Central, and Union Grove, placing them just on the outside looking into the Power 25 -- for now.  

KEY NOTES

  • Waunakee had a great week, winning four of five games. Its only loss came against Janesville Craig. At 9-3 this spring, the Warriors have quietly cruised up the ranks. From No. 23 in the preseason, Waunakee is now up to a season-high No. 8 after the latest update.

  • Waupun played a whopping seven games last week -- nearly as many has Eau Claire Memorial has played all season -- and the Warriors won all seven. They’re now 13-1 this year, ranked No. 10.

  • Webster won five games last week to continue its seven-game win streak. They’re now 12-2 this spring. Tigers pitching is responsible for Webster’s streak of seven straight shutouts while the offense scored 93 runs during that stretch.  

  • Middleton tumbled seven spots in the latest update, all the way down to No. 23. They’re a candidate to bounce back up soon, though, considering they have wins against Sun Prairie and Janesville Craig on their resume. But at 10-5 with some unremarkable losses on the year, Middleton is on the outside of the top 20 for the first time all season.

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday, May 7

No. 2 Sun Prairie at No. 5 Oconomowoc

Tuesday, May 8

No. 21 Kenosha Tremper at Kenosha Bradford

No. 18 Waterford at Burlington

Westosha Central at No. 4 Wilmot

No. 19 Beloit Turner at Whitewater

Chippewa Falls at No. 12 Eau Claire North

DeForest at No. 8 Waunakee

Thursday, May 10

No. 13 Appleton North at No. 14 Oshkosh West

Burlington at No. 18 Waterford

Kenosha Bradford at No. 21 Kenosha Tremper

No. 4 Wilmot at Westosha Central

Whitewater at No. 19 Beloit Turner

No. 12 Eau Claire North at Chippewa Falls

Friday, May 11

No. 7 West DePere at DePere

No. 18 Waterford at No. 5 Oconomowoc

No. 1 Arrowhead at No. 23 Middleton

Saturday, May 12

Sun Prairie Invitational -  No. 2 Sun Prairie, Beloit Memorial, Burlington and No. 8 Waunakee

Chippewa Falls at No. 24 Stevens Point

Wausau West at No. 12 Eau Claire North

No. 22 Tomah at DeForest

No. 3 Janesville Craig at No. 9 Kimberly


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