Kenosha Bradford leads off first batch of Milwaukee-area softball rankings this season

AREA RANKINGS

Team (W-L)

1. Kenosha Bradford (7-0)
2. Westosha Central (3-0)
3. Muskego (4-0)
4. Menomonee Falls (4-1)
5. West Bend West (4-0)
6. Cedarburg (5-0)
7. Germantown (3-0)
8. Arrowhead (3-2)
9. Union Grove (6-2)
10. Wisconsin Lutheran (2-1)

Others considered: Burlington (6-0), Brookfield Central (5-0), Franklin (3-1), Kenosha Indian Trail (3-1), Kewaskum (8-1), New Berlin Eisenhower (4-0), Oak Creek (4-3), Sussex Hamilton (3-1), Waterford (2-3) and West Allis Hale/Central (4-2).

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Kenosha Bradford

Is it cheating to pick the top-ranked team in the opening set of rankings as the team of the week? Maybe.

Do the Red Devils have a strong case to be considered the top team in more ways than one? Absolutely.

Kenosha Bradford is off to a flying start this season and went 5-0 last week. The Red Devils outscored their opponents 33-0 in the five victories with three of those wins coming against last season's state qualifiers Arrowhead, Oak Creek and Menomonee Falls. Bradford's run differential is plus-65 through seven games because it hasn't allowed a single run. The mind-boggling numbers are due to one of the state's top pitching duos in Eastern Illinois recruit Brooklynn Danielson and Central Michigan recruit Aubrey Strelow. The two have combined to strike out 74 hitters with just 15 hits allowed in their first seven starts. Their combined walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP) is 1.39. Good luck finding the scoreboard against these two.

COMING UP

All games listed will start at 4:30 p.m.

Kenosha Bradford at Kenosha Indian Trail, Tuesday: The top-ranked team in the area will face off with nearby rival Indian Trail in what should be one of the better games of the week. Indian Trail has won three of its first four games, including a 7-5 victory over defending Southeast champion Oak Creek to start conference play.

West Bend West at Cedarburg, Tuesday: In a matchup of arguably the two best programs in the North Shore Conference, the early-season showdown featuring Spartans star Ava Thelen and Cedarburg ace Cassidy Gall is worth a couple hours of your time.

Muskego at Burlington, Wednesday: The Muskego Warriors have won four straight and the Demons have started a perfect 6-0. Keep an eye on Emersen Biedrzycki. She's got a pair of home runs and 12 runs batted in already for Burlington.

Sussex Hamilton at Brookfield Central, Thursday: A team potentially on the rise in the loaded Greater Metro Conference is Brookfield Central, which has won five straight to open the season. Defending champion Sussex Hamilton's visit is one of a trio of measuring-stick games for the Lancers this week in conference play.

Menomonee Falls at Germantown, Friday: Two teams that will certainly give Sussex Hamilton a run for its money in the GMC title race will lock horns. Germantown is undefeated and the lone loss for the Falls came in a 2-0 defeat against unbeaten Kenosha Bradford. Falls star Kaeley Niemiec against potentially Kylie Otto could make for an exciting pitchers duel.