Power 25 Update: April 21

The WIAA season is in full swing and our third edition of Power 25 rankings is beginning to sort the field with a little more definition. Plenty of teams trending in the right direction, while a few perennial powerhouses are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Here’s a look at the week that was in the Power 25.

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Cream of the Crop

• No. 1 Waunakee stays unbeaten at the top of our Power 25 in week three. The Warriors are 9-0 on the year and picked up a significant resume builder last Monday with a 6-4 win over No. 12 Arrowhead. Waunakee is slated to catch another Power 25 this week with a double header against Hortonville.

• No. 2 Kenosha Bradford went 2-1 on the week, taking their Southeast Conference series with No. 23 Kenosha Tremper. It’s the Red Devils first loss of the season, but nothing to balk at - it comes in the conference, in the Power 25, and against a crosstown foe which makes those games always tight. Bradford has proven they can play winning baseball all year, and deserving of the No. 2 rank.

• No. 3 Kimberly was idle last week, and remains at No. 3. Looking ahead the Papermakers will face a surging No. 10 Hortonville on Thursday.

• No. 4 Burlington is back where they should be after an opening day walk-off loss to Kenosha Indian Trail, that should garner more weight than it did at the time. The Demons have one of the best pitching staffs in the state, and it showed on Saturday proving they belong near the top of the Power 25 with a 7-1 win over No. 2 Janesville Craig. Burlington went 3-0 on the week to improve to 7-1 and winners of seven straight.

• No. 5 Janesville Craig went 3-1 on the week sweeping No. 15 Sun Prairie last week and taking one on the chin to No. 10 Burlington who now moves ahead of the Cougars at No. 4.

Trending up

• No. 6 Waupun stays undefeated, matching the record of Waunakee at 9-0. The defending D2 champs have yet to play a Power 25 team yet this season, let alone a D1 team, but they will get their test this week with Watertown (6-4), their first D1 opponent of the season, and one with a winning record.

• No. 7 West De Pere had a big four-win week, and most notably doing it in convincing fashion on the mound. The Phantoms gave up just two runs all week, both to Appleton West in a 7-2 win on Saturday. The Phantoms staff has been lights out to say the least, they have only allowed more than two runs once all year, in their only loss, an 8-7 defeat to Seymour. If the staff keeps this up, they will see themselves continue to climb the Power 25.

• No. 9 Webster went 3-0 last week with three lopsided victories. The Tigers gave up their first runs of the year in a 23-3 win over Grantsburg, but have still beaten all their opponents by the slaughter rule this year.

• No. 10 Hortonville picked up two wins with a 2-0 week. The Polar Bears did not give up a run on the week, and tossed a no-hitter, blanking Kaukauna 2-0. Hortonville has also been one of the uptrend teams that has been pitching it well. In their last six wins, Hortonville has allowed a combined seven runs.

• No. 11 De Pere gets two more wins and improves to 5-1. The Redbirds will have their toughest test to date this week as they are set to face Green Bay Preble on Thursday.

• No. 13 Oak Creek got it going in the right direction this week with a pair of Southeast Conference wins over No. 7 Franklin, saving their Power 25 ranking, and moving them north back up the list. The Knights will face No. 12 Indian Trail this week in conference play, another tough week, but a chance to bolster their resume in the right direction.

Down but not out

• No. 8 Preble went 1-1 last week, their loss came at the hands of Bay Port, a preseason Power 25 ranked team.

• No. 14 Franklin took a couple of tight conference losses from a reeling Oak Creek team that seemed desperate to right their ship. The Sabers fall to 7-2 on the season.

• No. 23 Arrowhead continues to falter this week, going 1-2. Albeit one of the losses to No. 1 Waunakee. The Warhawks just haven’t found their grove yet. At 5-4, they will face another Power 25 team this week in Muskego, looking to avenge an earlier season loss.

• No. 22 Stevens Point finally had a winning week, but just 2-1 in their three contests, with the loss coming to a sub .500 DeForest team.

• No. 20 Sun Prairie went 2-2 on the week, losing a pair of Big 8 games to No. 2 Janesville Craig. The Cardinals fall to 6-5 on the year and barely hanging on to the Power 25. They’re saving grace is that four of their five losses have been to either the current No.1 or No. 2 team in the state.

Welcome…

• No. 21 Union Grove improves to 8-2 on the season, picking up a pair of wins over No. 22 Westosha Central and moving their way into the Power 25. The Broncos have also etched a pair of wins over a solid Wilmot team.

• No. 24 Bay Port (5-3) plays themselves back into the Power 25 with a big win over No. 4 Green Bay Preble. The Pirates took some early losses in the state of Florida, but in WI have only lost to De Pere, a team that is now soundly in the Power 25 and continuing to climb the ranks.

Out

• Westosha Central fell off the rails in week three going 0-3, dropping contest to Waukesha West, and two to Union Grove.

• Kenosha Tremper also falls out after a 1-2 week to Kenosha Bradford.

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