FOCUS ON PREP BASEBALL
Area rankings
(Records through Sunday)
Teams (W-L) last week
1. Whitefish Bay (21-1) 1
2. Franklin (18-3) 2
3. Arrowhead (16-3) 3
4. Oak Creek (17-4) 4
5. Brookfield Central (18-5) 10
6. Marquette (19-4) 6
7. Pewaukee (19-6) –
8. Westosha Central (18-3) 7
9. Kenosha Tremper (18-3) 9
10. Union Grove (16-5) –
Player of the week Carlos Walta, Wisconsin Lutheran
The Vikings entered the week with a seven-game winning streak that has been fueled by the play of the senior shortstop. He hit .700 (7 for 10) with two home runs and seven runs batted in. His second homer of the week was a walk-off shot Friday that secured a 6-4 win over Brown Deer/Shorewood.
Team of the week St. Thomas More
The Cavaliers went 6-0 with five of the wins coming against Metro Classic opponents. The one that drew attention statewide was a 4-3 win over defending Division 3 champion Kenosha St. Joseph, which is ranked third in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Division 3 state poll. Junior Eli Niemiec gave his team five quality innings in that game before sophomore Sam Mommer came on and struck out three hitters in two innings of relief. Friday sophomore Oliver Gonzalez drove in two in a 6-5 win over Dominican that raised the team's record to 11-2 in the conference. The next day sophomore Kyle Alivio struck out nine in five innings in a 7-3 win at New Berlin West that pushed Thomas More's winning streak to 11 games and raised the team's record to 17-5 overall.
Coming up
Oak Creek vs. Kenosha Tremper, 4:30p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: With Franklin poised to wrap up the Southeast Conference title, this series will determine the second-place finisher. Games will be in Kenosha on Tuesday and Thursday.
Arrowhead at Oconomowoc at Roosevelt Field, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday: Arrowhead entered the week with a chance to complete an undefeated season in the Classic 8.
Westosha Central at Union Grove, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday: Central needs a win over the first-place Broncos in the conference finale to grab a share of the Southern Lakes title.
Marquette at Whitefish Bay, 5 p.m. Wednesday: Bay takes on the co-leader of the Greater Metro.
South Milwaukee at Greendale, 6 p.m. Thursday: The first-place teams from the Woodland's East and West divisions take the field.
Mark Stewart