Appleton East Softball
With a pair of hard-fought 2-0 and 3-1 victories over league rival Kimberly Friday evening, the Appleton East softball team sealed its first Fox Valley Association championship since 2000 and earned this week's late edition of the Splash of the Week. 
Three teams remained in contention for the FVA title entering Friday's showdown. Appleton East and Kimberly were tied on top with a 15-1 record, followed by Kaukauna at 16-2. A sweep would give the victorious team the league title, while a split would create a three-way tie for the 2010 crown.
In game one, a run-scoring passed ball followed by an RBI single from senior Andrea Snider was enough for Patriot sophomore hurler Tierney Wittman to hang onto the victory, recording three strikeouts and giving up just three hits.
East, having locked up at least a share of the title with the win in game one, looked to the pivotal second act to secure its first title since 2000. And it was another underclassman who stepped up huge, as freshman Molly Krause broke open a scoreless affair in the third inning with a two-run home run. The Papermakers pushed a run across in the fifth, but another wild pitch scored Patriot senior Kelly Horak in the top of the seventh and freshman pitcher Lauren Blasczyk shut down the Kimberly offense, striking out eight and allowing just one run.
While Appleton East earned back-to-back State appearances in 2008 and 2009, including a Semifinal berth last season, it lost eight seniors from last year's squad. Yet the expectations for the young Patriots were still high entering this season, according to head coach Janel Batten.
"Sometimes, I feel bad because I think when (the young players) play for East, the expectations are so high," Batten told the Appleton Post Crescent. "And we really struggled this year with the young kids and putting pressure on them.
"For them to step up and do this job — and they did with that much pressure on them to be that good — I think is really awesome."
Appleton East, the sectional's top seed, will open up Regional play Thursday as it awaits the winner of Appleton North and Manitowoc Lincoln in the 8-9 matchup.
Honorable Mention
First-Round Regional Upsets: While not too many higher-seeded teams lost their regional openers, there were a few surprises that warrant an honorable mention. In softball action, #7 Oconto Falls blasted #2 Notre Dame 13-5 in a Division 2 Regional last Thursday, as the Panthers won just their fifth game of the season. In another #7-over-#2 upset in Division 4, La Farge squeaked past Cashton 3-2 to earn a second-round berth. #6 seeds Mount Horeb, Lakeland, Markesan, Alma Center Lincoln and Prentice each also upset their respective #3 seed opponents. In baseball, just two major upsets were recorded from Friday's opening Regional round, as a pair of #6 seeds moved on. Dodgeville sneaked past host Platteville 9-8 in D2, while Necedah beat Scenic Bluffs rival Bangor 7-4 in Division 3.
Edgar Girls Track: Dominating a Division 3 Sectional meet isn't easy, especially when 36 high schools converge onto the same track to vie for the team title. Yet the Edgar girls showed just how dominant they can be, outscoring second place Newman Catholic by 89 points to secure the D3 Marathon Sectional championship. The Wildcats won 11 total events, and placed an athlete or relay team in the Top 10 in all 18 events but the 1600, 3200 and shot put. If Edgar finishes as its State-qualifying efforts are, the Wildcats should waltz to the Division 3 Girls Title this Saturday.
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