By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

Unseasonably cold and rain across much of the state last week didn’t put a damper on a solid stretch of baseball – one that included several top-ranked matchups and competitive conference games. Now that we’re into May, teams have begun to show their true tendencies and contenders have stepped to the fore.

If anyone doubted No. 1 St. Rita, the undefeated Mustangs showed that they are indeed for real last week when they blasted Providence 14-1 in five innings on Saturday, launching four of their five home runs against Jake Godfrey.

No. 4 St. Laurence, too, proved its mettle last week when it swept defending champion Mount Carmel in convincing fashion. St. Rita and St. Laurence will square off Monday and Wednesday in what should be a stellar two-game Chicago Catholic Blue series.

No. 3 Lemont also proved yet again that the Indians are for real when they handed No. 9 Lincoln-Way West its first loss, 3-0, on Saturday. Lemont has played an extremely tough schedule, and its only loss was to No. 2 Lincoln-Way North, 4-3, in 10 innings. And speaking of Lincoln-Way North, the Phoenix will face off against Lincoln-Way West on Thursday.

Because of their impressive weeks, St. Laurence, Lemont and Lincoln-Way North jump ahead of Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in the rankings, although SHG didn’t lose last week.

Here’s a quick look at the updated Power 25 Team Rankings:

Climbing

+ Since losing to No. 17 Edwardsville, No. 10 O’Fallon has been rolling and the Panthers move into top 10 for the first time this season.

+ No. 16 Glenbrook South continues to impress, sweeping New Trier in its Central Suburban South two-game series.

+ No. 6 Libertyville (18-2) has yet to lose to an Illinois team. The 4A state runner-up Wildcats will be put to the test on Tuesday and Wednesday when it plays No. 12 Mundelein (22-1) in a critical North Suburban Lake series.

+ No. 15 Plainfield North quietly continues to climb up the rankings.

Sinking

+ No. 11 Joliet Catholic split a pair of East Suburban Catholic series with No. 22 Benet and Carmel last week.

+ No. 17 Edwardsville fell to Alton last week in Southwestern Conference play and subsequently dropped six spots.

New to the Top 25

+ Maine South
+ Downers Grove South
+ Mascoutah

Dropped Out

+ McHenry
+ Homewood-Flossmoor
+ Providence

Just Missed the Cut

+ Naperville Central
+ Mahomet-Seymour
+ Richards
+ Nazareth
+ Huntley

Big Matchups this week

Monday, May 5
St. Rita at St. Laurence, 4:30
Schaumburg at Fremd 4:30
Montini at Marmion 4:30

Tuesday, May 6
Libertyville at Mundelein 4:30
Lockport at Homewood-Flossmoor 4:30
St. Charles North at St. Charles East 4:30

Wednesday, May 7
St. Laurence at St. Rita 4:30
Mundelein at Libertyville 4:30

Thursday, May 8
Lincoln-Way West at Lincoln-Way North 4:30

Friday, May 9
Grant at Libertyville, 4:30
Huntley at Cary-Grove 4:30

Saturday, May 10
Cary-Grove at Huntley 10
Batavia at Geneva (2) 10
St. Rita at Brother Rice 11

CLICK HERE to view Power 25 Team Rankings