Einstein Little League sprinted to a 7-0 lead after just two innings, and avenged its only loss of the state tournament with an 8-2 victory over West Madison American Little League in the Wisconsin state championship game at Railyard Park in Ashland.

The win gave Einstein its second state championship in the major baseball division in three years, and its third overall. The Appleton-based league advanced to the Great Lakes Region tournament in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Einstein and West Madison American first met on the tournament's opening day, when West Madison claimed a 4-3 victory. But Einstein, which scored ten or more runs in each of its next five games, matched that offensive output in the first inning of the championship game, and left little doubt as to the game's eventual outcome by following with a four run rally in the second.

"They were pretty hungry," said Einstein manager Dave Eagan of his players. "They came out and unleashed seven runs and didn't look back."

Trace Sonnleitner helped Einstein to the early lead with a two-run single in the first inning. Clark Eagan added an RBI double in the second, and Ben Morgan followed with a two-run homer. Later in the inning, Courtney Watkins added a solo home run to put the District 2 champions in command.

West Madison scored twice in the third on Ben Young's two-run homer.

Morgan and Sonnleitner led a fifteen hit Appleton attack with three hits each, while Clark Eagan, Watkins, Jon Wilman, and Grant Yost added two hits apiece.

Watkins also delivered a strong performance on the mount, allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out five batters.

"It was a great pitching performance by Watkins," remarked Dave Eagan. "He came through after we had used our top two pitchers in the semifinals."

Ryan Radue, who Dave Eagan originally planned to start in the championship game, helped resue his team with three innings of relief work in Einstein's come-from-behind, 10-8 victory over West Bend National Little League in the semifinal round. Alex Loveland's grand slam home run helped West Bend build an 8-3 lead, but Einstein rallied for seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to stave off elimination.

Wilman sparked Einstein's final rally with a leadoff home run. With two runners on base one out later, Einstein strung together five consecutive hits to race into the lead. Radue's double drove in the go-ahead run, and helped Appleton survive against a team it defeated by a 13-3 score in round robin competition.

In the other semifinal round game, West Madison American rode the strong pitching of Tom Murphy and a two-run homer from Craig Cox to a 6-1 victory over Franklin National Little League.

Einstein and West Madison American paced the field during round robin competition, as each won four of their five games while the other two semifinal qualifiers finished with 2-3 round robin records. West Madison claimed a pair of one-run decisions and an 11-9 victory over Franklin National among its four round-robin wins, while Einstein won each of its four remaining games by ten or more runs.

Einstein began its winning streak by collecting 16 hits in the rout of West Bend American. Watkins and Morgan homered in the win, while Clark Eagan, Watkins, and Radue had three hits apiece.

The next day, Einstein scored five times in the first inning against Wausau Northern Little League, and put the game well out of reach with eleven more in the second en route to a 17-7 win. Radue, Wilman, Watkins, Morgan, and Brett Harvath each had two hits as the District 2 champions collected twelve safeties on the afternoon.

"They looked like small men out there," said Wausau Northern Little League manager Dan Detert after the game. "Some of them were as big as me, and they could really hit."

Einstein followed with two more mercy rule victories: first an 11-1, four inning victory over Franklin National in which Morgan (twice) and Wilmon homered, then a 15-0 decision over Eau Claire's Lowes Creek Little League. Sonnleitner homered twice and drove in five runs against Lowes Creek, while Watkins and Morgan also cleared the fences as Einstein continued its climb from the opening day setback.

Einstein's rebound from the opening round loss was not the only comeback success story at the state tournament. A decade ago, Ashland's Railyard Park complex was an eyesore: an abandoned, weed and debris-filled brownfield that had long been contaminated by diesel fuel, waste oil, and lead. After a local developer bought the land and donated a portion of it to the city, local officials coordinated a multi-year cleanup, and used over $300,000 in investment -- much of it donated labor and materials -- to create a sparkling new facility. The park included walking trails, a new gazebo, and a new concession facility, as well as the Martino Field and Jauquet Field diamonds used to host the state tournament.

The facility has become a prime community resource, and helped send Einstein, which has reached the state tournament in each of the past four years, to the Great Lakes region tournament. Einstein faced an uphill climb in Indianapolis, and was eliminated after dropping all four of its pool games.