The News-Gazette's baseball Top 10 poll: SJ-O reclaims No. 1 spot
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May 22—The regular season is nearly wrapped up, with IHSA postseason games starting on Memorial Day. Before the regional tournaments begin, Sports Editor Matt Daniels offers up one more batch of area power rankings:
1. St. Joseph-Ogden
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➜ Record: 32-2
➜ Previous ranking: No. 2
➜ Quick hit: The Spartans honored their superb 2016 team that finished second in state in Class 2A last Saturday in between home games against Bishop McNamara and Charleston. Can this current SJ-O team make a run to the state tournament? Possibly. Coach Josh Haley and his talented roster, highlighted by six junior-college signees, begin the postseason at 3 p.m. next Wednesday as a No. 1 seed. Either ninth-seeded Sullivan or eighth-seeded Marshall awaits in a 2A regional semifinal game in Bismarck.
2. Champaign Central
➜ Record: 26-6
➜ Previous ranking: No. 4
➜ Quick hit: Ryan Pipkins and the rest of the Maroons are playing well heading into the postseason. That's possibly an understatement considering Central carried a nine-game win streak into Thursday night's game against Taylorville as part of the 37th annual Charlie Due tournament that runs through Saturday at Spalding Park in Champaign. Central's home venue will also host a Class 3A regional next week, with second-seeded Central hosting seventh-seeded Danville in a regional semifinal game next Wednesday.
3. Mahomet-Seymour
➜ Record: 24-6
➜ Previous ranking: No. 5
➜ Quick hit: Walk-off wins are always enjoyable for the team doing the walking off. Which is what Mahomet-Seymour did in delivering a 3-2 nonconferencehome win against Monticello on Tuesday night thanks to an RBI single from Nolan Sanderson. Which came roughly three weeks after Sanderson hit a walk-off home run to beat Mt. Zion. The third-seeded Bulldogs are feeling confident at the right time before they get ready to face fifth-seeded Mt. Zion again next Wednesday in a Class 3A regional semifinal game in Chatham.
4. Unity
➜ Record: 21-8
➜ Previous ranking: No. 1
➜ Quick hit: The Rockets are getting tested. Which should serve coach Tom Kimball's team well in the Class 2A postseason. Unity ended a five-game losing streak with a home win against Lexington on Thursday before it ends the regular season with road games against St. Teresa and Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond this weekend. All in preparation for second-seeded Unity to take on either seventh-seeded St. Thomas More or 10th-seeded Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman next Wednesday in a Monticello Regional semifinal game.
5. Monticello
➜ Record: 29-4
➜ Previous ranking: No. 3
➜ Quick hit: If a team only has one "bad loss" among a 33-game regular-season schedule, that's a noteworthy feat. The Sages' "bad loss" happened May 4 at Paxton-Buckley-Loda, with their other three defeats coming against SJ-O, Champaign Central and Mahomet-Seymour. Koyie Williams and Co. are hosting a Class 2A regional, with the third-seeded Sages meeting sixth-seeded Westville at 4:30 p.m. next Thursday in a regional semifinal game. Beat the Tigers and nearby rival Unity, who Monticello defeated 9-7 on April 9, likely awaits.
6. BHRA
➜ Record: 18-8
➜ Previous ranking: No. 6
➜ Quick hit: Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin has played about as well as veteran coach Mark Dodd could have wanted in May. The Blue Devils are 8-1 this month before the regular season ends on Friday at Paxton-Buckley-Loda. Jaxen Spicer and his teammates will hope their success against Vermilion Valley Conference foes continues on their home field. Fifth-seeded BHRA hosts fourth-seeded Paris in a Class 2A regional semifinal game next Thursday in Bismarck. Paris is the only team to beat BHRA in May, winning 4-1 on May 2.
7. Armstrong-Potomac
➜ Record: 19-3
➜ Previous ranking: No. 7
➜ Quick hit: The Trojans are used to hoisting Class 1A regional plaques in the air, winning three since 2021. Can this year's team, led by Kentucky recruit Traxton Roberts, relive the past success from 2001 and 2003 when the Trojans reached the Class A state tournament? Perhaps. Coach Tom Wolken has a balanced team that doesn't just rely on Roberts. A-P is a No. 1 seed and will host a regional next week, starting off against either ninth-seeded Watseka or eighth-seeded Hoopeston Area next Wednesday in a regional semifinal game.
8. Westville
➜ Record: 21-12
➜ Previous ranking: No. 9
➜ Quick hit: After sustaining a loss at Armstrong-Potomac on April 24, late-season success sparked a nine-game win streak by the Tigers. That was enough to give Westville its fourth straight season of at least 20 wins. Ben Johnson and the rest of his teammates have a tough task to start the Class 2A postseason by opening against host Monticello in a regional semifinal game next Thursday. But the confidence gleaned from their May run, coupled with a difficult nonconference schedule, could pay off when it matters most.
9. Rantoul
➜ Record: 16-15
➜ Previous ranking: Not ranked
➜ Quick hit: An up-and-down season for the Eagles has featured more ups in the past week thanks to three consecutive wins against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, Mattoon and Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman. Coach Kyle Lewis has relied on key cogs like Levi Duitsman and Aiden Cheek, among others, in helping Rantoul improve throughout the season. They'll be put to the test next week, though. If Rantoul can get past Bloomington next Wednesday night in a Class 3A regional semifinal game, perennial power Normal U-High is likely up next.
10. ALAH
➜ Record: 19-8
➜ Previous ranking: No. 8
➜ Quick hit: Postseason victories aren't all that common for Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond on the diamond. These Knights, who finished with a 9-1 Lincoln Prairie Conference record, will try to change that narrative. Coach David McGrath's team is a No. 1 seed in the Class 1A postseason. Will Hilligoss and the rest of his teammates begin the playoffs next Wednesday down in Neoga as the Knights get ready to square off against either ninth-seeded Villa Grove or eighth-seeded Central A&M in a regional semifinal game.