Jordan Plamann scattered seven hits and pitched a complete game as his Einstein Little League all-star team defeated Eau Claire American Little League 4-1 in the Wisconsin state championship game at Milwaukee's Carver Park.

Plamann, who earned his second victory of the tournament over Eau Claire, struck out six batters and walked only one in the win. The right-hander allowed only one extra base hit, while permitting only four Eau Claire baserunners to reach scoring position.

"Most of the hits were bloopers on the handle or off the end of the bat," said Einstein manager Pat Buckley of Plamann's performance.

Plamann's teammates staked him to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. After Eau Claire pitcher Andrew Knickerbocker retired the first five Einstein hitters of the game, Kyle Sperl slapped a double down the right field line and scored on catcher Eric Trunk's double. Right fielder Marty Selleck then drove a two-strike pitch to right field that hit the top of the fence before bouncing over for a two-run home run that gave the Appleton-based league a 3-0 lead.

Eau Claire broke through in the fifth when Sam Weaver's single to center field scored Tyler Seymour, but Einstein added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning with another two-out rally. Josh Kuester and Kurt Mittelstadt drew two-out walks before Plamann's grounder through the right side drove in Kuester with the game's final run.

Plamann allowed Dan Sailer's infield single to open the sixth, but retired the next three batters to send Einstein to a region tournament for the second time in the league's history.

Einstein's 1981 all-star team won a sectional tournament that served as the Minnesota/Wisconsin championship, and then won a divisional tournament before finishing fourth in the Central Region tournament.

"That was the goal from the beginning," said Buckley of Einstein's state championship.

Seymour and Ty Sparger had two hits for Eau Claire, while Knickerbocker fanned ten batters in five innings of work.

"(Plamann) was the winning pitcher in the district championship," said Buckley. Einstein defeated the Appleton Lions Little League 6-1 in seven innings in the District 2 final, with Plamann allowing only one run over the game's first six innings before Einstein rallied in the seventh.

"He typically is the guy we will have pitch in the championship game," said Buckley.

Einstein reached the championship game in 2004 by winning all five of its round-robin games. Plamann opened the tournament by throwing a four-hit shutout as Einstein defeated Eau Claire 3-0. Brandon Hitter drilled a two-run homer, and Kyle Fiorito's single drove home Sperl to provide the Appleton offense.

The next day, Kuester threw a complete game and struck out six batters as Einstein downed Antigo Little League 7-4. Sawyer Burton and Sperl each had three hits for Einstein, while Hitter and John Holloway added two apiece. Appleton opened a 7-0 lead before Antigo broke through for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

After a 3-0 win over District 4 champion West Madison National Little League -- Burton had two hits and was the winning pitcher -- Einstein clinched first place in the round-robin competition with a 10-7 extra inning win over West Bend American Little League. Trunk snapped a 7-7 tie with his second hit of the game, a three-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh. Plamann had two of Appleton's ten hits, while Hitter and Burton each drove in two runs.

Einstein defeated Lakeland National Little League 3-0 to close out round-robin play, then advanced to the championship game with a 4-1 win over Antigo in the semifinal round. Burton earned his second win of the tournament, striking out just one batter but allowing only three hits and pitching a complete game. Hitter's two-run homer in the top of the first gave Einstein an early lead, and Plamann and Colin Buckley later drove in insurance runs. Kuester had three hits and scored twice for the District 2 champions.

The win earned Einstein a rematch with Eau Claire American, which won five straight games after its opening round loss, including a 1-0 decision over Lakeland National in the other semifinal round game.

Einstein, which had won the District 2 title in 2003 before finishing with a 2-3 record at the state tournament, advanced to the Great Lakes Region tournament in Indianapolis, Indiana, following their state championship victory. The Appleton contingent defeated Western Little League from Grand Rapids, Michigan, 6-2 in their region tournament debut, but dropped their three remaining pool games by a total of five runs and eventually finished the tournament in fifth place.

Follow Appleton Einstein at the Great Lakes Region Tournament -- Click here to view results.

Linescores:

Championship Game	1	2	3	4	5	6		R	H	E
Eau Claire American	0	0	0	0	1	0		1	7	1
Appleton Einstein	0	3	0	0	1	x		4	5	1

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Last revision: 06/12/2005